The Federal Government has granted a 50% subsidy on electricity for public hospitals across Nigeria. This decision aligns with the commitment made by Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, to subsidize electricity in hospitals and universities, even for those on Band-A feeders.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the subsidy approval on Thursday, explaining that the initiative aims to lower operational costs for public hospitals and ease the financial burden on patients. Alausa shared this news during his visit to the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna, where he also inaugurated electronic health records and alternative power sources, including a solar-powered borehole and the solarisation project at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex and the dialysis unit.
In a recent statement from Ibadan, Minister Adelabu clarified that the subsidy would not extend to private businesses operating within universities and hospitals. He acknowledged the financial difficulties these institutions face in paying electricity bills but stressed that the government plans to meter all businesses within these institutions to prevent subsidies from benefiting private enterprises.
Adelabu emphasized, “We know they are development institutions, they are social institutions. But inside the health and educational institutions, private businesses are hiding under them. These people charge their customers commercially and they expect to be subsidised because they are located within the territories of these institutions. We said no, go and do a proper search and meter everybody. For the ones that are properly health and education-related, we are ready to subsidise them, even if they are on Band A. We are compiling our data, DisCos will collect a certain amount and the government will pay the balance. But we must get the data right so that we are not subsidising a private business that is charging its customers commercially. That will be an abnormal profit and it is unfair.”
The move comes after universities and public hospitals reported a significant increase in their electricity bills following the removal of subsidies for Band A customers, who now receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity daily. For instance, the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital recently expressed concern over an “outrageous” electricity bill of approximately N280 million for May, a sharp increase from the usual N100 million.
While the Ministry of Power has yet to provide full details on the subsidy implementation, Minister of Power’s spokesman, Bolaji Tunji, assured that further information would be provided soon.