The management of the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos (CMUL) and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have cried out over what they described as an outrageous electricity bill charged by Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) for May. The healthcare institutions said they were recently jointly presented with a bill of about N280 million for May instead of the less than N100 million they used to pay. Due to the disagreement over the bill, for about 10 days between June and July, electricity to the two health institutions was disconnected, leading to a protest by medical students who said the poor power supply could lead to their failure in the forthcoming examinations.
But the college Provost, David Oke, a professor, told PREMIUM TIMES that the situation has been “temporarily resolved” and that light has since been restored, even as he blamed EKEDC for imposing an unaffordable tariff on the college and the hospital since the introduction of the ‘band system’. The hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Wasiu Adeyemo, a professor, also corroborated Mr Oke, insisting that no public institution offering social services such as health and education can afford such “outrageous charges.” However, the electricity company has denied the allegation, saying the tariff charged is not an imposition but that the charges are determined by the feeder supplying power to the area and the amount of electricity being supplied per day.
In April, the Ni.
