By Muhammad Amaan
The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved a 50 per cent subsidy for the electricity consumed in hospitals across the nation.
This followed a promise by the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, that the Federal Government would subsidise electricity in hospitals and universities, even if they are on Band-A feeders.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced on Thursday that the Federal Government has approved the 50 per cent electricity subsidy for public hospitals.
According to him, this gesture aims to reduce the running costs for public hospitals and alleviate the impact on patients.
Dr Alausa made this disclosure at the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna, where he unveiled the electronic health records and an alternative power supply source at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex and the solarisation project at the dialysis unit, which includes a solar-powered borehole.
Speaking recently in Ibadan, Mr Adelabu, however, said the government would not subsidise private businesses operating in these universities and hospitals.
The minister disclosed that the government was aware that universities and hospitals are having challenges paying the bills.
However, he said the Federal Government was planning to meter all businesses running in each of the institutions to prevent paying subsidies to private businesses.
“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.
“And 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,” he stated.
After the Federal Government removed subsidies from customers categorised as Band A and upgraded their daily electricity supply to a minimum of 20 hours daily, universities and public hospitals cried out that their bills had skyrocketed.
Recently, the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital cried out over what they described as an outrageous electricity bill charged by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company for May.
The institutions said they were jointly presented with a bill of about N280m for May instead of the less than N100m they used to pay.
The Ministry of Power has yet to give details of the subsidy arrangement for the institutions.
