UCH resident doctors declare three-day warning strike over electricity crisis

THE Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, will embark on a three-day warning strike from 8:00 a.m. today (Monday, October 12) over persistent electricity crisis in the College of Medicine axis of the hospital.

This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its Emergency General Meeting (EGM) and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Sunday.

The communiqué was jointly signed by the president of the association, Dr Uthman Adedeji and General Secretary, Dr Mary Awodiji.

The association said the meeting became imperative following failed engagements with relevant stakeholders on the prolonged outage in the area where majority of its members reside.

ARD-UCH said the College of Medicine axis had for several years been disadvantaged and least prioritised by UCH management.

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It said that resident doctors and other health workers residing in the axis had endured severe hardship arising from protracted epileptic power supply.

“The situation deteriorated significantly from January 2026 when the circuit breaker supplying the hospital complex became faulty.

“As the least prioritised area, the circuit breaker supplying the College area was sacrificed to keep the main hospital running, and the area was left in darkness without any actionable efforts to rectify the situation,” it said.

The association said that after seven months of perseverance, it issued an ultimatum during its August Ordinary General Meeting (OGM).

It added that it culminated in the purchase and installation of a new breaker on September 10 and subsequent restoration of electricity after several months of total darkness.

It, however, said that the joy was short-lived as on September 20 when the hospital experienced another major electrical fault, which resulted in the newly purchased breaker being removed again from the area that had barely been reconnected for one week.

The association said that despite the harsh living conditions, it demonstrated institutional loyalty and restraint and appealed to members to exercise more patience.

“However, we cannot continue to do so in the face of perceived nonchalance and disregard for the welfare of people residing in this axis.

“The people are being made to suffer inter-institutional bottlenecks between the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, and its landlord, the UCH Management,” it said.

It said a direct consequence of the persistent power failure had been chronic water shortage in the residential area.

It regretted that doctors now resort to sourcing water from private business centres and places of worship within the hospital premises.

It also observed the untold hardship which poses significant public health hazards and compromises security of lives and property, as well as perceived lack of urgency in maintenance and repair of hospital facilities.

The association said after exhaustive deliberations, congress resolved to demand immediate restoration of electricity to the College of Medicine area and also resolved to embark on a three-day warning strike commencing 8:00 a.m. today (Monday, October 12) to express grievances over the untold hardship meted out to its members.

At the expiration of the warning strike, it said the congress would reconvene to deliberate and may proceed on an indefinite strike “should our demands remain unmet.”