Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Patients seeking medical attention at Maitama District Hospital in Abuja were left waiting in darkness on Saturday morning after a power outage disrupted activities at the public health facility, in the latest incident to expose the fragility of electricity supply to the Federal Capital Territory’s healthcare system. A correspondent who visited the hospital at about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, 2026, observed patients seated in waiting areas without normal lighting. After waiting for close to 20 minutes, the correspondent approached a nurse to enquire about the situation. The nurse said the hospital had been without electricity for more than an hour, indicating that the outage began before the correspondent arrived. A security guard at the facility also told the correspondent that staff did not know the cause of the blackout. “There hasn’t been light for close to one hour. I can’t really speak as to when the light will be restored,” the guard said.
The outage appeared to affect the hospital’s computer-based operations, making it difficult for patients to receive attention as expected. The situation was particularly concerning because patients’ medical histories and records were stored electronically, making access to the information difficult when the systems could not function normally. A patient who spoke to the correspondent said he had been at the hospital without receiving attention because of the power outage. “We don’t really know what is happening. We were simply told there was no light and they couldn’t attend to us because our information was on the system,” the patient said. Located on Aguiyi Ironsi Street in Maitama, Abuja, the hospital serves residents of the Federal Capital Territory who depend on public healthcare facilities for medical attention. There was no immediate official explanation from the hospital management regarding the cause of the blackout.
The incident is not an isolated one. Maitama District Hospital and other public health facilities in Abuja have experienced repeated power disruptions in 2026, often linked to the operations of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company. In January 2026, the AEDC disconnected several agencies and institutions under the FCT Administration, including the FCT Water Board, Asokoro District Hospital, Bwari General Hospital and Government Girls Secondary School in Dutse, over unpaid electricity bills. Power was restored to the hospitals following engagements between the AEDC and FCT authorities responsible for bill settlements. In May 2026, a major power outage affecting parts of the FCT, including the National Hospital, was attributed to a technical fault. The National Hospital was also forced to evacuate patients from its oncology department the same month after a fire outbreak triggered by persistent electrical fluctuations. In July 2026, the AEDC reported a blackout in the Maitama district and surrounding areas following the alleged invasion of its Maitama substation by land grabbers.
The recurring outages have drawn attention to the broader electricity crisis confronting Nigeria’s healthcare system. In March 2026, the University College Hospital in Ibadan stopped admitting new patients as union members embarked on a five-day warning strike over restricted power supply, with a consultant describing the situation as a teaching hospital being forced to operate like a facility from a bygone era. By September 2026, the hospital had endured 109 days of darkness over unpaid electricity bills, during which doctors reportedly used torchlight to attend to patients. The Delta State University Teaching Hospital also faced prolonged disruption after the failure of its step-down transformer in June 2026, relying on a limited generator schedule that provided only a few hours of electricity daily. These incidents reflect a systemic challenge: hospitals depend on uninterrupted power for critical care, yet many facilities lack adequate backup systems and remain vulnerable to disconnections and grid instability.
The political context of the incident is significant. The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is seeking a second term on the All Progressives Congress platform, while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, former Anambra Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement are among the major challengers. Healthcare delivery and electricity supply have emerged as key issues in the campaign, and the government’s ability to ensure reliable power to critical facilities will be scrutinised by voters. The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said the government is addressing the structural and financial problems responsible for the sector’s challenges, including the settlement of legacy debts through a bond programme. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has approved the renovation and upgrading of 14 general hospitals across the territory and the completion of the abandoned Utako General Hospital.
For the patients at Maitama District Hospital on Saturday morning, the outage meant hours of waiting, uncertainty and frustration. For the hospital staff, it meant the inability to access electronic records and process consultations as normal. For the broader public, the incident is another reminder that the electricity that powers Nigeria’s hospitals remains unreliable, and that the consequences fall most heavily on those who can least afford to seek care elsewhere. The cause of Saturday’s outage had not been officially established as of the time of reporting, and the hospital management had not issued a statement. The coming days will determine whether the outage is resolved and whether the underlying challenges facing the facility receive the attention they require. As the patient put it, they were simply told there was no light and that they could not be attended to because their information was on the system. It is a statement that captures both the immediate disruption and the deeper vulnerability of a healthcare system that depends on power it cannot guarantee.
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