IBEDC has been denied owing N495 million by UCH

Ibadan’s University College Hospital denies owing the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company N495 million, despite what has been implied.

This was said in a statement released by UCH’s public relations officer, Mrs. Funmilayo Adetuyibi, to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Ibadan.

According to NAN, IBEDC cut off UCH’s power supply because of what it claimed were unpaid bills of N495 million, leaving the institution without light.

However, Adetuyibi refuted the claim that the hospital had racked up N495 million in debt during the previous three years.

She stated that the current UCH administration, headed by Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, took office on March 1, 2019, and as of February 27, 2019, it had inherited approximately N27 million. Since then, it has made sure that IBEDC bills are paid each month.

She also claims that the UCH management has been paying off the backlog of invoices that were left over from earlier administrations.

“This management has had meetings with the IBEDC management on several occasions.

“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 N250m 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 is 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,” she said.

Adetuyibi refuted the notion that the hospital often spent N160 million a month on diesel, stating that the monthly expenditure was actually closer to N15–N17 million.

She said that the hospital’s internal audit department’s records showed that IBEDC had never provided UCH with a 24-hour power supply.

“The narrative of patients’ relations buying sachet water does not arise at all. Even though the hospital does not have 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,” she said.

Adetuyibi went on to say that the management of the hospital had also installed solar inverters in a few locations, such as the medical microbiology department, the outpatient clinics, the accident and emergency department, the endoscopy suites, the ECG suites, the staff clinic, and the Owena dialysis ward.

“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 public relations representative continued, saying that although UCH had been paying the previous costs in addition to the current ones, IBEDC was demanding that the hospital pay the bills it had inherited.

She stated that because the power distribution firm provides social services, the management has made multiple appeals to them to refrain from charging UCH at commercial prices.

“But our appeals have not had the ears of the company.

“However, in order to mitigate the effect of power outages, the hospital has set up an energy committee.

“The committee is responsible for raising funds to pay electricity bills and providing solar-powered energy to other service areas in the hospital.

“Aside that, the energy committee is charged with finding lasting solution, in the short and long term, to the energy problem.

“We plead with well-meaning individuals, corporate organisations, and the international community at large to come to the aid of the hospital.

“UCH is a national heritage; our collective legacy, and the onus of maintaining it lies on us all,” Adetuyibi said.

NAN