BAYO AGBOOLA, from Ibadan, writes about the crossfire between the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state over 102 days power outage and restoration at the University College Hospital (UCH)......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
Adelabu’s intervention
Last week, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, stormed the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan in connection with the over 100 days blackout at the hospital following the disconnection of power from the hospital by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over outstanding N283.8million debt owed by UCH.
Adelabu after a closed door meeting with the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan team led by the Chief Medical Director, Prof Jesse Abiodun Olubanjo Otegbayo, and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) led by the Managing Director, Engineer Francis Agoha, resolved the issue of the 102 days power outage.
As heartening as it was that the Minister extracted the assurance of the IBEDC to restore electricity supply to some sections of the hospital between 24 to 48 hours, the development generated hot exchange between the Oyo state government and the main opposition party, APC, in the state.
Power crisis as embarrassment
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Adelabu said, “the power crisis in the UCH has gotten to an embarrassing level, not just for the hospital or IBEDC but also to the federal government. UCH is the country’s premier teaching hospital and it is embarrassing to have the hospital in darkness for that long.
“The issue is on customer-vendor crisis which we expect that would have been resolved. I have intervened in time past and the hospital was reconnected to the grid but the issue would come back again. The federal government is not comfortable with the current crisis between UCH and IBEDC.
“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, (LUTH), University of Calabar, Maidiguri and Abuja that had similar cases were able to surmount theirs through the federal government intervention of Solar mini grid.
“Similar thing will be done at the University of Ibadan and the College of Medicine. The federal government will install 50 megawatt solar mini grid which will be completed with the first and second quarter of the year.
“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 instalment basis.
“The management of the UCH has agreed on immediate settlement of the debt on instalment 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 bill while separate transformers will be provided.
“It was also agreed that all the section of the UCH must be properly meter in order to guide against sharp practices. The issue of fraud and power theft will not be condoned. It is an economic crime. Whoever that is caught should be reported to the EFCC.”
The verbal war
Barely 24 hours after the Minister of Power’s visit to UCH, the main opposition political party in Oyo state, the APC and the Governor Seyi Makinde-led government engaged in verbal war over the restoration of electricity supply to the University College Hospital, (UCH) Ibadan after over 100 days of blackout at the hospital.
To the APC, the restoration of power supply to UCH stands out as
a testament to the commitment of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to its Renewed Hope agenda, alleging that Oyo state government turned a blind eye at the tertiary health institution which mostly serves the people of the state.
APC outburst
Oyo APC in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Olawale Sadare, minced no words in accusing the Governor Makinde-led government of allegedly turning a blind eye at the plight of UCH which, according to the party, mostly serves the people of Oyo state.
“UCH which is a stone throw away from the office of Governor Makinde had to be without electricity supply for about three months as this had its negative effects on the productivity of the staff and students as well as numerous patients but the state government looked away.
“It is a thing of joy that the Minister visited Ibadan (on Monday) with a magic wand and all issues between the managements of the UCH and IBEDC were amicably resolved as reports have it that power supply has been restored now
“We hereby express our profound gratitude to President Bola Tinubu who gave the Minister his kind permission to intervene and save the situation for the sake of the citizenry as well as the image of the country in view of the fact that the UCH is a globally recognised teaching hospital”
Oyo government’s position
“Oyo state government in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Makinde, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, lashed out at the state APC, saying, “it is unfortunate that the APC is so shameless that it is thumping its chest on the issue of UCH-IBEDC imbroglio instead of covering its face in shame.”
“It is unfortunate that the APC is so shameless that it is thumping its chest on the issue of UCH-IBEDC imbroglio instead of covering its face in shame. But we are not surprised because APC will play politics with anything, even the agony and pains of the people they were elected to serve”.
According to Dr Olanrewaju, ” The fact is that the problem at UCH was not caused by the Oyo state government. Rather, it was due to the failure of the federal government to live up to its promise of subsidising cost of electricity to hospitals.”
The statement continued, “Last year August, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, publicly declared that the federal government would subsidise electricity in teaching hospitals following the categorisation of electricity users into bands.
“That was six months ago. The question to ask is, has the federal government fulfilled its promise? So, why should the APC now choose to blame Oyo state government for a problem created by the insensitivity of the federal government? Had the federal government fulfilled its promise of subsidising its own institution as it promised, would the UCH be in this state? “
The Special Adviser on Media to Governor Makinde, stressed, “Now, shall we ask the APC that after the Minister has intervened in the UCH-IBEDC face off, will he also go to Lagos to resolve the issue between LUTH and Eko Disco should there be a problem, or go to Maiduguri to plead with the electricity distribution company not to disconnect University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital?
“Come on, governance is a much more serious business than that. Governance is for serious-minded people, not clowns. Nigeria surely deserves better than these jesters who are just juncketing all over the place glamorising common problems instead of thinking out of the box to get permanent solutions to them.
“In Oyo state, we don’t paper over the cracks; we go to the roots of issues to get permanent solutions”.
Amidst the verbal war, there is no doubting the fact that all hands should be on deck to find a permanent solution to the challenge of power outages in the UCH.
For now, the most paramount issue is whether the restoration of power to UCH by the IBEDC has come to stay. This can only be guaranteed when all the conditions agreed to are met by the concerned parties. Anything to the contrary will amount to a wild goose chase.
