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University of Ibadan medical students took to the streets on Thursday, protesting a prolonged power outage that has plagued their hostels for over 100 days. The students, who were armed with placards, barricaded the office of the Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, for several hours.

The placards carried inscriptions such as “100+ Days of Darkness: Save UCH” and “Medical School Is Hard Enough—Give Us Light.” The students were demanding the full restoration of electricity to their hostels, which have been in darkness since October 2024 due to outstanding debts owed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

The power outage was temporarily alleviated on Monday when the facility was reconnected to the national grid, thanks to the intervention of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu. However, the students were not satisfied with the partial restoration of power, which only covered the hospital’s complex and not the hostels.

“We are here because we want the management to restore power. That is the simple demand,” said Bolaji Aweda, President of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union Government.

Tijani Abdulkabir, Editor-in-Chief of the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan, also expressed frustration with the situation. “After Monday’s meeting, the minister assured us that power would be restored within 24 to 48 hours. But to our shock, while electricity was restored to the UCH complex on Wednesday evening, our hostels remain in total darkness,” he said.

“As you can see, the protest has lasted for hours, and it will continue until our demands are met,” Abdulkabir added.

Addressing the protesting students, the provost of the College of Medicine, Prof. Temidayo Ogundiran, explained that the power outage was due to a long-standing debt of nearly ₦500 million owed to IBEDC. “UCH and the College of Medicine are considered one entity by IBEDC. The company does not recognise separate units like Alexander Brown Hall (ABH) or Ayodele Falase Hall. The truth is that until the full debt is paid, power cannot be fully restored,” Ogundiran stated.

However, Ogundiran assured the students that electricity restoration would be done in phases, starting with areas critical to patient care. “The agreement reached with IBEDC, through the intervention of the Minister of Power, is to restore power in phases. The clinical area, where patients are treated, was prioritised and reconnected first,” he explained.

“The next phase will cover other areas, including students’ hostels. We understand the frustration, but this is a complex problem that requires careful planning and resources,” Ogundiran added.

Ogundiran urged the students to exercise patience, assuring them that efforts were ongoing to resolve the issue permanently.

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