LAUTECH Gets N9.4m From Alumni For Workers’ Salaries
As part of measures to save the Ladoja Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) from collapse, the alumni has raised over N9.4 million for the management of the institution to pay workers’ salaries.
The leader of the team, Mr Bayo Adeyinka, while presenting the cheque to the management, said N9.4 million was the proceed of a crowd funding initiative launched to pay three months’ salary arrears of the institution’s striking workers as a form of bailout.
The cheque was received by Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, the Chairman, Governing Council and Prof Adeniyi Gbadegesin, the Vice-chancellor.
“We created a website and raised N9.4 million through a very transparent approach. Every donor to the fund has its name and amount donated boldly on the website.
“We are presenting the cheque to you today with printed bank statement of all transactions. When we rolled out, we streamed it live and vowed not to take a kobo from the fund.
“I am promising you that no kobo was touched. What we have done is to show example of giving back to the society,’’ he said.
He said that the team would recommend that the fund be spent on endowment to the university and automated transcript process/infrastructure development.
According to him, “We will love five million of the amount expended on endowment to the university, while N4.4 million be expended on automated transcript process and infrastructure development.
“As we are winding down, we are also handing over the initiative and the website to the university,” he added.
Adeyinka stated that some of the donors were yet to redeem their full pledges, urging the management to do the follow up on them, which he said was over three million naira.
He also called on the management to set up an endowment office for the institution as well as initiate a collaborative empowerment scheme for students to acquire other skills before graduating.
In their separate responses, Afolabi and Gbadegesin appreciated the team for their efforts, which they described as laudable.
Afolabi urged the team not to wind up as stated, saying that the institution still needed their support to attain the desired heights.
“We want LAUTECH to rise again and we have to give a roadmap to achieve this. Our target is to see the university rank among the best in the world.
“You have done very well. With your initiative, you have run ahead of us. We are waiting for the KPMG report after which we will collate the suggestions of all stakeholders,” he said.
The governing council chairman gave the team four weeks to fashion out how they could be a better arm of the endowment office.
Gbadegesin also appealed to the team not to wind up, adding they have started a beautiful and laudable project.
“We appreciate your donation. It is not enough for you to donate money and not see to its proper and judicious utilisation for purposes it is meant for,” he said.
The vice chancellor said that the team had on its empowerment programmes for the students, started lofty programmes that could make LAUTECH graduates employers of labour.
He commended them on their recommendation for the utilisation of the fund, saying they would ensure it was judiciously and appropriately utilised.
