The University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, says it did not owe the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) N495 million bill, as being insinuated.

The UCH spokesperson, Funmilayo Adetuyibi, stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

IBEDC had disconnected the power supply to UCH due to what it called accumulated bills of N495 million, throwing the facility into darkness.

Adetuyibi, however, said it was not true that the hospital had an accumulated bill of N495 million over the last three years.

She noted that the present UCH administration, led by Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, assumed office on March 1, 2019, and inherited over N27 million as of February 27, 2019, adding that the hospital had since ensured the monthly payment of bills brought by the IBEDC.

She stated that the UCH management has also been settling the backlog of bills inherited from previous administrations.

The UCH spokesperson said: “This management has had meetings with the IBEDC management on several occasions.

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“Aside that, a payment plan on how to offset the backlog of the outstanding debt has been forwarded to both the consultant of IBEDC and the regional head of IBEDC.

“This payment plan was rejected by IBEDC. They insisted that first payment of N250 million should be made within three months.

“This management’s catchphrase is ‘patients’ comfort and staff welfare’. In essence, the issue of power supply and water supply to the hospital are critical to our operations.

“While we can say that we have outstanding bills to settle with the IBEDC, the hospital management has left no stone unturned in our proactive approach in making sure our teeming patients have access to adequate medical care at all times.”

Adetuyibi further denied the report that the hospital usually spends N160 million on diesel on a monthly basis, adding that only about N15 to N17 million was being expended on diesel per month.

She noted that IBEDC had never given a 24-hour power supply to UCH, citing the records of the hospital’s internal audit department.

“The narrative of patients’ relations buying sachet water does not arise at all. Even though the hospital does not have an optimal water supply due to power outage, we rely on the generator to pump water.

“The hospital has only 45 generators. Out of these 45 generators, some are due for servicing while some are due for replacement,” the UCH spokesperson added.

Adetuyibi further stated that the hospital’s management had also made available solar inverters in some areas, including all out-patients clinics, the Accident and Emergency Department, Endoscopy Suites, ECG Suites, Staff Clinic, Owena Dialysis Ward, and the Medical Microbiology Department, among others.

“As stated earlier, the contention we have with IBEDC is the old bill inherited by this current administration.

“We paid N50 million in January 2024, N55 million in February 2024, and N45 million in March 2024,” she said.

The Star