UCH Resident Doctors Issue Strike Threat Over Prolonged Power Outage
Story: written by Amarach i March 11,2026
Resident doctors at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have warned they may begin an indefinite strike if the persistent electricity crisis at the hospital is not resolved within three weeks.
The doctors, operating under the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), said the ongoing power failure has placed the major teaching hospital under severe strain, affecting patient care and medical training.
Speaking on the development, ARD UCH President Uthman Adedeji explained that the doctors had already issued a 21-day ultimatum starting from March 7, 2026, after a previous five-day warning strike failed to prompt meaningful action from hospital authorities.
According to him, the doctors suspended work briefly last week in a warning protest, but conditions remained unchanged after they returned.
“We organised a five-day warning strike from Monday to Friday last week. When we resumed work on Saturday, the situation was exactly the same,” he said, adding that the action was meant to give room for dialogue and resolution.
Adedeji expressed frustration that since the warning strike ended, there has been no significant engagement between the doctors and hospital management to address the crisis.
He warned that if the issue is not resolved before the expiration of the ultimatum, resident doctors may proceed with an indefinite industrial action.
The ARD president described it as unacceptable that a leading medical training institution in Nigeria is struggling with basic infrastructure such as electricity.
“Our concern is not personal benefit,” he said. “We want reliable power supply in both clinical and residential areas of the hospital to ensure effective healthcare delivery and proper training for doctors.”
The electricity problem at the hospital dates back to October 26, 2024, when Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company disconnected the facility from the national grid over an unpaid electricity bill of about N495 million.
The situation severely disrupted hospital operations, with the facility reportedly experiencing a complete blackout lasting 102 days between November 2024 and February 2025.
Commenting on the situation, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Workers (NAUPHW) at UCH, Daniel Adejobi, said the crisis remains unresolved.
“There is still no solution to the problem as we speak,” Adejobi said.
Healthcare workers warn that unless urgent action is taken to restore stable electricity to the hospital, patient care and medical services could face further disruption.
