Osun Govt Lied, Misrepresented Facts About Our Position – LAUTECH ASUU

By Olabode Abolaji

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology LAUTECH Ogbomoso, has faulted reports in the media circulated by the Osun State Government that members of the union are frustrating efforts to get the institution off its prolonged industrial action.

In a statement on Sunday jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr Biodun Olaniran and its Secretary, Dr Toyin Abegunrin, ASUU LAUTECH berated the Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, for describing its members as “internal enemies” considering the fact that they have been unpaid for months.

The Union said claims by Mr Baderinwa are demeaning, insulting and appalling as it is not in any way hindering the internal audit going on in the institution.

According to the statement, the Academic Staff of LAUTECH, Ogbomoso are not opposing the steps towards accountability taken by the owner states in respect to the recommendations of the Chief Wole Olanipekun led visitation panel to the institution but opposed to the manner the two owner states took that derailed from the university’s edict.

ASUU LAUTECH said “While our Union is committed to accountability, such exercise must be carried out in line with the dictates of University edict, which empowers only the Governing Council to audit the accounts of the University and not the visitors. However, issues of operation of accounts and management of funds are activities of both management and the Governing Council, who were appointed by the owner states.”

“Therefore, queries on infractions on multiplicity of accounts, redundancy of accounts, extermination of ventures and insinuated mismanagement of funds should be directed to Council and management. If the owner states cannot ask them questions; it is either they are acting in mischief or conniving together to destroy LAUTECH.

“Thus, the traumatized workers should be spared from insults of being classified as “thieves”. While the Olanipekun-led Visitation Panel recommended auditing of the University accounts and personnel, it does not specify that the University should be closed down while doing that, rather, it recommended an immediate payment of N 1.78 bn by the owner states.”

The union also asked the two owner states to come up with a viable position on the ownership status of the ivory tower, find modalities of paying the #7.15b owed the universities since 2011, and without hesitation declare their “incompetence” to pilot the affairs of the university any longer.

The statement continues “If the owner states cannot meet the wage bill of the University nor provide capital grants for the development of the University; they should be bold to declare insolvency at running LAUTECH, so that Federal Government (FG) that has invested heavily in the University can take it over in the overall interest of the public.”

“On the ownership of the University, the position of our Union is very clear as dictated by the edict of the University, and so we should not be dragged into misgivings about the ownership.it would be appropriate for the owner states to face the task of nation-building by releasing fund to the University, and desist from acts that are capable of putting lives of staff, 30,000 students and their parents in jeopardy. The good people of Oyo and Osun States, South west and indeed Nigeria are called upon to prevail on the owner states to do the right thing by funding LAUTECH adequately. It is appalling that we are yet to see the impact of the Chancellor of the University, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in resolution of the current crisis.”