LAUTECH: Group calls on management, ASUU to resolve crisis, open school

A group, the Oyo Patriotic Front, has called on the management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho and the Unions to resolve their differences and allow academic activities to resume in the school.
The group made the appeal in a statement signed by its Chairman, Chief Jare Adepoju, on Tuesday in Ibadan.
It noted that the lingering crisis between the union and the school management was affecting the students’ life, adding that their academic programme was also suffering.
OPF explained that education was not only important but must be timely and not be truncated by people or the system.
The statement said: “LAUTECH students have been home for over two months. At the initial stage, we thought the problem was because of the government inability to pay its subventions to the institution regularly.
“We observed that other institutions in the two owner states, Oyo and Osun, are not having the same problems as LAUTECH.”
The OPF said that it investigated the cause of the closure and discovered that the problem was internal, which made them believe that the problem with the institution was peculiar.
It also stated: “We see nothing wrong if the management of the institution decide to use the internally generated revenue to pay salaries.
“It shows that the management is thinking outside the box to ensure that the school is financially independent which should be seen as a plus rather than a cause of disagreement.
“We urge LAUTECH ASUU to soft pedal on their stance and consequently call on the national body of ASUU to prevail on their members.”
It said that the governments of Oyo and Osun had raised a panel of inquiry to resolve the issues, calling on the management and unions to sheathe their swords.
It noted: “We appeal to the governments to equally task the management on the immediate resumption while the panel set up continues with their assignment. We believe that the students should not be allowed to suffer unnecessarily.”