Healthcare services at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, were thrown into disarray yesterday as workers commenced a five-day warning strike over what they described as deliberate internal electricity rationing by hospital management.
The industrial action was declared by the Council of UCH Union Leaders (CUUL), a coalition of major staff unions within the institution, following weeks of complaints about restricted power supply to critical clinical areas and residential quarters.
Among the unions participating in the strike are the Association of Resident Doctors, Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Non-Academic Staff Union and the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions.
Addressing journalists at the hospital, CUUL Co-Chairman and Chairman of JAC-UCH, Oladayo Olabampe, alongside Dr Uthman Adedeji, Co-Chairman of CUUL and Chairman of ARD-UCH, accused management of failing to ensure stable electricity distribution within the facility.
The union leaders lamented that routine surgeries were being cancelled, laboratory investigations delayed and life-saving diagnostic equipment left idle due to inadequate power supply. They described the situation as unacceptable for a tertiary referral centre expected to provide uninterrupted specialist care.
According to them, the persistent electricity challenges have not only disrupted clinical services but also created unsafe working conditions for staff and compromised patient welfare.
