The promise by the Federal Government to subsidise the cost of electricity in health institutions has yet to materialise even as hospitals groan over electricity debts.
This was as the students of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, staged a protest after over 100 days of power outages due to disconnection.
Findings by The PUNCH showed that the Federal Government has yet to commence subsidising 50 per cent of the monthly electricity tariffs of these hospitals, leading to controversies and disconnection from the national grid.
The PUNCH reports that the University College Hospital, Ibadan, was disconnected for over three months due to mounting debts owed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company until the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, intervened on Monday.
After the Federal Government removed subsidies from customers categorised as Band A and upgraded their daily electricity supply to a minimum of 20 hours daily last year, universities and public hospitals cried out that their bills had skyrocketed.
The College of Medicine of the University of Lagos and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital cried out at the time over what they described as an outrageous electricity bill charged by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company for May.
The institutions said they were jointly presented with a bill of about N280m for May instead of the less than N100m they used to pay.
This was because electricity distribution companies insisted the institutions must pay for the true value of the power consumed.
In August 2024, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed that the government would subsidise electricity in hospitals and universities, even if they are on Band-A feeders.
Adelabu, however, said the government would not subsidise private businesses operating in these hospitals and universities.
The minister disclosed that the government was aware that universities and hospitals are having challenges paying their electricity bills.
He said the Federal Government was planning to meter all businesses running in each of the institutions to prevent paying subsidies to private businesses.
“We know they are development institutions; they are social institutions. But inside the health and educational institutions, private businesses are hiding under them. These people charge their customers commercially and they expect to be subsidised because they are located within the territories of these institutions.
“We said no, go and do a proper search and meter everybody. For the ones that are properly health and education-related, we are ready to subsidise them, even if they are on Band A.”
We are compiling our data. Discos will collect a certain amount, and the government will pay the balance,” he stated.
While unveiling the electronic health records and an alternative power supply source at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex at the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna, in August, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced that the Federal Government had approved the 50 per cent electricity subsidy for public hospitals.
According to Alausa, the gesture aimed to reduce the running costs for public hospitals and alleviate the impact on patients.
However, as of the time of filing this report, the implementation of the policy has yet to commence.
Officials of federal medical centres and government-owned teaching hospitals confirmed to our correspondent that the implementation has yet to commence.
The officials, who did not want to be mentioned to avoid being persecuted, stated that the high cost of electricity is impacting the finances of the health institutions, affecting operating expenses.
They expressed surprise that after about six months, the government had yet to fulfill a promise it made willingly, begging the Federal Government to reconsider implementing the plan as soon as possible.
“The Federal Government has not paid any electricity subsidy in this hospital. We have been struggling with exorbitant bills running into millions of naira every month. It is affecting our Opex (operating expenditures). I hope the government will implement this and save the hospitals from collapsing,” one of the officials said.
When contacted, the spokesperson to the power minister, Bolaji Tunji, declined comments about the matter.
Tunji said the minister had addressed the issue when he visited UCH, Ibadan, on Monday.
He stated that only the minister could speak on the matter.
“The minister was in UCH Ibadan today (Monday), and he addressed the media. All these questions could have been raised at that event. This is one of the reasons he was in Ibadan, and I know that question must have been asked. I was not there, but I believe it could have been answered by the minister himself,” Tunji said.
On Monday, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company agreed to restore electricity supply to some sections of the UCH in Oyo State after 100 days of power outage.
This was one of the resolutions of the meeting between Adelabu, the management of the UCH led by its Chief Medical Director, Jesse Otegbayo, and the management of IBEDC led by its Managing Director, Francis Agoha. The meeting was held in the Conference Room of UCH.
The PUNCH reports that UCH had been in darkness since October 2024 over non-payment of over N283m electricity bills.
In the course of the meeting, the medical students of UCH staged a protest at the office of the CMD over the non-availability of power and water.
They displayed placards with different inscriptions such as, “+100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH; Save ABH Hall; Save Falade Hall; Give Us Light; This Is Not How We Want To Live; Medical School Is Hard Enough- Give Us Light; All We Are Saying, Give Us Light,” among others.
The protesting students described the situation as unbearable as they disclosed that the entire hospital community had affected their academic activities negatively.
Adelabu, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, said all the issues relating to the lingering power crisis had been resolved.
He described the crisis as not only an embarrassment to the management of the institution but also to the Federal Government, adding that the humongous debt being owed by the hospital was traceable to some factors, which include sharp practices, unseparated accounts, dilapidated infrastructure, and equipment, among others.
The minister decried the previous practice of lump electricity bills, stressing that all the sectors, including the clinical services, college of medicine, and the commercial outlets, must operate different accounts.
“The power crisis in the UCH has gone to an embarrassing level for the hospital’s status as the foremost hospital not only in the country but also in Sub-Sahara Africa. It is quite embarrassing to have the hospital in total darkness for so long. I have intervened in the matter several times, but the problem still lingers.
“Other teaching hospitals, including the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, University of Calabar, Maiduguri, and Abuja, that had similar issues were able to surmount them through the Federal Government intervention of solar mini-grids.
“A similar thing will be done at the University of Ibadan and the College of Medicine. The Federal Government will install a 50-megawatt solar mini-grid, which will be completed within the first and second quarter of the year,” he disclosed.
The minister spoke further, “Also, while this is going on, the IBEDC has agreed to restore electricity to some sections of the Hospital within 48 hours while N283m will be settled on an installment basis. The management of the UCH has agreed on an immediate settlement of the debt on installment payment, which is going to be between 8-12 months in addition to the current bill.
“Henceforth, each of the major consumers will be responsible for the payment of their electricity bills as against the previous practice of lump bills while separate transformers will be provided.”
Adelabu explained further that it was also agreed that all the sections of the UCH must be properly metered to guard against sharp practices.
“The issue of fraud and power theft will not be condoned. It is an economic crime. Whoever is caught should be reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. We have seen the results likewise the consequence of the ignoble act. I have advised the CMD to report such incidents to the EFCC. Some banks have been caught red-handed by-passing connections. That is a fraud,” he warned.
In November, IBEDC said the disconnection of UCH became unavoidable following the failure of UCH to pay N400m debt.
Speaking with our correspondent, the spokesperson of IBEDC, Busolami Tunwase, said the university did not fulfill its promise to clear the debt.
While saying the company expressed sympathy for the hospital’s situation, she confirmed that the disconnection was due to UCH’s significant outstanding debt.
Tunwase said the company was compelled to take the action because it was faced with increased pressure to meet its financial obligations.
“IBEDC was compelled to take this course of action as we are faced with increasing pressure to meet our financial obligations to the market.
“However, IBEDC reiterated its commitment to working with UCH and remains open to discussions on a flexible payment arrangement that could be mutually agreed upon by both parties,” she said.
The IBEDC explained that the company is expected to meet 100 per cent of its market obligations, and the outstanding debt from major customers like UCH directly contributes to the liquidity crisis within Nigeria’s power sector.
The PUNCH reported earlier that the Federal Government might spend approximately N188.25bn annually to subsidise electricity supply for about 75 public tertiary hospitals and 300 educational institutions across the country.
The PUNCH reports that the 75 tertiary health institutions that will benefit from this gesture include federal medical centres and teaching hospitals owned by the federal and state governments.
Findings by the PUNCH indicated that the Federal Government would spend about N50m to augment the electricity bills of each of these hospitals, which translates to N3.75bn in a month and N45bn in 12 months.
