UCH workers declare 5-day warning strike over recurring power outage

By Adejayan Gbenga

Workers at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, under the Council of UCH Union Leaders (CUUL), have commenced a five-day warning strike due to a persistent power outage that has been affecting the hospital.

The strike was announced in a statement signed by the CUUL Co-Chairman and Chairman of JAC UCH, Oladayo Olabampe, and the CUUL Co-Chairman and Chairman of ARD-UCH, Dr. Uthman Adedeji.

The unions revealed that the strike began on Monday, highlighting that UCH had been without electricity for a total of 102 days between November 3, 2024, and February 12, 2025, while also disclosing that the blackout was initially caused by a disconnection from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

Although, Western Post gathered that power was eventually restored through intervention by the Minister of Power; however, the unions alleged that electricity to clinical and residential areas of the hospital is now being internally rationed and restricted by management. This, they claim, is severely hampering effective service delivery.

The CUUL leaders described the internal rationing as deliberate, warning that it endangers patients’ lives and exposes staff to hazardous working conditions, stating that many patients are being turned away, and several procedures are either rejected or referred to other facilities due to inadequate power supply.

“A teaching hospital in 2026 is being forced to operate like a facility from a bygone era,” the statement read, amid emphasizing that the hospital’s operations are being critically undermined and are losing millions of naira daily in internally generated revenue because of the rationing.

The unions stressed that the five-day strike will continue until the hospital management addresses the power supply issues, reaffirming that the warning strike is not for personal gain, but rather to protect patient’s safety, and the institution’s integrity.

The CUUL equally called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Ministry of Power, and the Federal Government to urgently intervene to prevent further deterioration of services at the hospital, whilst also appealing to Nigerians to support the cause, stating: “A nation cannot strengthen its healthcare system while its premier institutions operate in darkness.”