‘Mass Casualty Looming’, Ikubese Warns FG, BEDC Over NUEE Strike Blackout In Ondo

Former presidential aspirant and Medical Director of Sckyé hospitals ltd Akure, Dr Thomas-Wilson Ikubese has warned about a looming case of mass casualty, if electricity supply is not restored across the four states covered by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) by the close of Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

Ikubese raised the alarm in a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday, expressing serious concern over the strike embarked upon by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), which has plunged Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta states into darkness for more than 24 hours.

Speaking in the video, the medical doctor warned that the prolonged blackout poses a serious threat to hospitals, other healthcare facilities and patients, whose survival depends on electricity-powered life-support equipment.
“If electricity is not restored by the end of today, there will be mass casualties. So many people will lose their lives unnecessarily,” he said.

Ikubese appealed to the Federal Government, the governments of the four affected states and BEDC management to urgently intervene by engaging the striking workers and resolving the dispute before the end of Tuesday.

“I cannot imagine that this will happen,” he said, urging the relevant authorities to treat the situation as an emergency and act swiftly to avert preventable deaths.

The Sckye Hospital CEO also highlighted the added difficulty posed by the rainy season, noting that persistent rainfall could limit the capacity of healthcare facilities relying on solar energy to generate sufficient electricity as an alternative to public power supply.

“This is raining season. So even those facilities that have solar power cannot have it maximised because of the rainfall,” he said.

He called for immediate dialogue between BEDC management and the striking union, stressing that the dispute must be resolved in the interest of Nigerians whose lives could be endangered by the prolonged blackout.

“I am appealing to the Federal Government, the state governments and the management of BEDC to please rise and discuss with this union and resolve this matter before the close of today,” he said.

The industrial action has raised concerns over the impact of the electricity shutdown on essential services across the four states, particularly healthcare delivery, as hospitals require reliable power to operate critical medical equipment and provide uninterrupted care to patients.

Ikubese’s warning underscores the urgency of resolving the dispute, with the medical doctor calling on all parties to act before the situation results in avoidable loss of lives.