Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have declared a three-day warning strike over persistent electricity failure in the College of Medicine axis of the hospital.

The strike, which commenced at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 12, 2026, followed unsuccessful engagements with relevant stakeholders over the prolonged power outage affecting the residential area where most of the doctors reside.

The decision was contained in a communiqué issued after an Emergency General Meeting of the Association of Resident Doctors, UCH, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Sunday.

It was jointly signed by the association’s President, Dr Uthman Adedeji, and General Secretary, Dr Mary Awodiji.

The association said the College of Medicine axis had been disadvantaged and given the least priority by the hospital management for several years, leaving resident doctors and other health workers in the area to endure difficult living conditions.

According to the communiqué, the situation worsened in January 2026 when a circuit breaker supplying the hospital complex developed a fault.

The association alleged that the breaker serving the College of Medicine area was sacrificed to maintain electricity supply to the main hospital, leaving the residential area in darkness without prompt efforts to resolve the problem.

After enduring seven months of the situation, the doctors said they issued an ultimatum during their August Ordinary General Meeting, which led to the purchase and installation of a new circuit breaker on September 10.

Electricity was subsequently restored after several months of total darkness.

However, the association said the relief was short-lived, as another major electrical fault occurred on September 20, resulting in the removal of the newly installed breaker from the area barely a week after power had been restored.

The doctors said they had continued to demonstrate institutional loyalty and restraint by appealing to their members to remain patient despite the hardship, but expressed concern over what they described as disregard for the welfare of residents in the area.

They attributed the prolonged crisis partly to inter-institutional bottlenecks between the University of Ibadan’s College of Medicine and UCH management, describing the situation as unacceptable.

The association further disclosed that the persistent electricity failure had triggered chronic water shortages, forcing doctors to obtain water from private business centres and places of worship within the hospital premises.

It warned that the situation posed significant public health risks, threatened the security of lives and property, and reflected a lack of urgency in maintaining and repairing hospital facilities.

Following deliberations at its emergency meeting, the association resolved to demand the immediate restoration of electricity to the College of Medicine axis and commenced the three-day warning strike to protest the hardship suffered by its members.

The doctors, however, warned that the industrial action could be extended indefinitely if their demands remained unmet at the expiration of the warning strike, when the congress would reconvene to determine its next line of action.