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Tag: LAUTECH

  • LAUTECH and the lingering crisis

    The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) crisis started with complaints of nonpayment of allowances. The school that has largely sustained itself by Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) had suddenly gone broke. Its Visitors won’t pay subventions. They wanted the university to survive on its own.

    Workers’ unions went on strike and the whole country sympathises with the students. After many negotiations, the school resumed, but that was temporary. Now, the state of the institution cannot be fully ascertained. No employee is ready work, just as Visitors remain adamant to pay. The school management is not saying anything on the true state of the institution. Time wasted cannot be accounted for. We are afraid our great citadel would fall in no time.

    May we also not forget that the academics could seek employment elsewhere, judging by their level of qualifications. The case of resignation of over 50 nurses from the school’s Teaching Hospital came to play. Lack of funds seems to be just one of several mosquitoes sucking the blood of the institution.

    Well, its establishment was laid on faulty foundation. LAUTECH was established as Oyo State University of Technology, before Osun State was carved out of the old Oyo State. The aim was so that the old Oyo State could have a university of its own. During the Adebayo Alao-Akala regime, the government rushed to complete the school’s College of Health Sciences in Ogbomoso. He probably did that, so only Oyo could own the institution. Then, why was UNIOSUN established in 2006?

    As LAUTECH crisis lingers, why are we having only students and staff making the news and not the people whose vision led to the establishment of the institution? Could the case of ownership have jumped into their minds? Why did Ajimobi make plans to set up a technical university in his first term as governor?

    Yet, its Visitors say, according to the court’s verdict of March 22, 2012, that the issue of the institution’s joint ownership cannot be overemphasised. One cannot but agree with the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Ajagungbade, who said the joint ownership was a failed experiment.

    Back to the IGR palaver. According to the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Sulaimon Gbadegesin, the school IGR had been used to pay workers’ salaries for 18 months. This means the Visitors had neglected their obligations for 18 months before the 2016 strike.

    The Visitors did not think of setting up a committee or to audit the accounts then. They just didn’t care. They only speak when it is the time to tutor the school management on why the institution should be able to run on its own. The school has no other means of generating income, except during the admission period.

    In the whole crisis, only members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the distressed students have made their position known. The VC and the school management still have not explained why students remain at home since June 2016, even though ASUU declared strike in September 2016.

    The school management has not explained the reason for non-completion of second semester in April 2017 and why school didn’t resume, even though ASUU didn’t declare an indefinite action until June 2017.

    We don’t know the school’s stance. Little wonder students fried bean cake (akara) on May 16 to mock the VC for his silence. He is too silent about the whole issue.

    In the end, everyone has a stake in this, students have too. Should the strike go on like this? The nation would continue to complain about peace and we will continue to churn out unproductive youths in our country. What then is the meaning of Change we voted for? A change for the worse? Students are crying, save our falling citadel. Save the legacies of Awolowo. Save LAUTECH

     

    Azeezat is a student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso

  • NANS express worries over continued closure of LAUTECH

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has expressed worries over the crisis rocking the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,  Ogbomoso, leading to shut down of the institution for over nine months.

    NANS President, Comrade Chinonso Obasi, speaking in Abuja when he hosted about 100 students of the institution to a dinner, vowed to relocate the headquarters of NANS to LAUTECH in order to ensure sustained action for restoration of academic activities at the University.

    He condemned the action of the two owner states, Oyo and Osun governments for failing to meet their obligation in sustaining the funding of the institution which he described as a “unique university in Nigeria.”

    Obasi said: “Today we have had a memorandum of understanding between NANS and the students of LAUTECH. The memorandum  is that the crisis rocking the institution is going to be a struggle for NANS until normalcy is restored and full academic activities commence at the institution.

    “My leadership is going to go into serious action, because all we need now is for LAUTECH to be reopened.

    “The students are also making their demands. They have called on the Federal government to take over the management of the University. At the moment, we share in their views and if I’m convinced that that is what the totality of students want, we will go along with them.

    “I’m not a student of LAUTECH but I was elected as the President of Nigerian students; so I will do what my students want me to do. We will soon convene a meeting of students and properly mobilise to relocate headquarters of NANS to LAUTECH until the institution is reopened to students.”
    He also pledged to meet with the Minister of Education and other relevant stake holders on the demands of the students for the Federal government to take over the affairs of the University.

    Meanwhile, the President of Student Union Government (SUG) of LAUTECH, Comrade Solace Bakare, said during the meeting that the closure of the University for over nine months had put the lives of over 35, 000 students at various levels in the institution in great peril.

    He said the students have petitioned the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, and the National Universities Commission (NUC), to intervene in the crisis.

    He said the students had earlier protested to the National Assembly on the need to ensure that legislative actions were taken to facilitate the take over of the University from Oyo and Osun states.

    “This joint ownership marked the beginning of problems of the University. There have been series of industrial actions by staff unions of the institution over non-payment of salaries, allowances and arrears due to poor funding by the owner state governments. The recent one is the over nine months strike by staff unions without any genuine efforts by the owners of the University to resolve the crisis.

    “We, therefore, appeal to the Federal government of Nigeria to take over the total control of the affairs and management of this higher citadel of learning and save the lives of over 35,000 students of the University,” he said.

  • Panel discovers 97 bank accounts belonging to LAUTECH

    •N13.626b released in five years

    Oyo and Osun, the two owner-states of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) at Ogbomoso, have said they discovered 97 different bank accounts operated by the management of the institution.

    The two state governments said this was contrary to their directive that LAUTECH should maintain a Single Treasury Account (TSA) to promote transparency.

    The discovery, they said, is contained in the visitation panel’s report submitted recently.

    They insisted on a forensic audit of the accounts of the institution.

    The report, it was learnt, also revealed that majority of the banks had closed shop due to either restructuring, merger or delisting by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The states said they released N13.626 billion in subventions, excluding Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), to the institution between 2011 and 2016.

    The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, spoke at the weekend in Ibadan, the state capital, while receiving the state executives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

    The commissioner said part of the recommendations of the visitation panel, led by a legal luminary, Chief Wole Olanipekun, was that the accounts of the school and its workforce must be audited.

    He said: “We are not too comfortable with the accounting process or procedure of the institution. That is the least we can say now.

    “Part of the recommendations of the visitation panel was that the accounts of the school must be audited; not only the accounts but the workforce too must be audited such that we look at the best practices on how to run this particular institution.

    “The bursary departments still rely on analogue mode of operation with its attendant challenges and risks.

    “When the government said you must have a single account, in that visitation panel’s report, you have various accounts. If you have various accounts, you have not been accused of any financial difficulty, but we must know the truth so that at the end of the day, we will know whether something is wrong with the management, administration or the accounting process.

    “The visitation panel observed that the university opened 97 different bank accounts in almost all the commercial banks in the country. Some of the banks have closed shop due to restructuring, merger or outright delisting by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”

  • LAUTECH hospital workers protest unpaid salaries

    LAUTECH hospital workers protest unpaid salaries

    The workers of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, at the weekend protested unpaid salary.

    They said they were last paid in January last year.

    The workers, who caused gridlock, carried placards with inscriptions, such as: “LAUTECH workers dying of hunger”, “Enough is enough since 2016”, “Ajimobi don’t wait for God’s wrath”, “Ajimobi please pay our salaries in full”, etc.

    Addressing reporters, the Secretary of Unions LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Lawal Abiodun, said the problem began in January last year, adding that it was borne out of the government’s stance that LAUTECH was an educational institution that could generate fund internally from students’ tuition fees.

    He said the unions made the government to understand that the students paid into the school’s coffers.

    Lawal said: “LAUTECH Teaching Hospital (LTH), Ogbomoso has been wrongly classified by the Oyo State government as one of the tertiary institutions that has students from whom the institution collects tuition fees. LTH does not collect fees from LAUTECH students, who use the hospital for their clinical training. They pay their fees to the university. Hence LTH Ogbomoso cannot generate revenue from the students.

    “As a result, the government since January last year has not paid the workers’ salaries, but subvention, which is not paid in full. This has made the institution to pay workers half salaries, making life difficult for them.

    “During our last visit to Health Commissioner Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, he said Governor Abiola Ajimobi agreed to pay our 100 per cent salaries and promised to raise a memo in that respect, but since, the memo has not been written.”

    He said LAUTECH hospital has lost consultants and nurses to other hospitals that are well-funded, adding that this is tantamount to imminent collapse of the hospital.

    Lawal said to save the hospital from collapse, workers’ full salaries must be paid.

    Efforts made last night to reach Dr. Adeduntan for his reaction were fruitless, as his lines were unreachable.

  • ‘Adeleke didn’t die from poison’

    ‘Adeleke didn’t die from poison’

    Dr Taiwo Sholaja, the lead pathologist who carried out the autopsy on the body of the late Sen. Isiaka Adeleke, on Wednesday told a coroner inquest that no trace of poison was found in the body system of the deceased when it was examined.

    Sholaja,  while giving evidence before the coroner, Chief  Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara, said the autopsy carried out by him and two other pathologists from Ladoke Akintola University Hospital, Osogbo,  revealed that the late senator died of “aspiration of gastric content due to multiple drug overdose.”

    He said the autopsy carried out by him and his team was performed in the presence of the Police Divisional Officer of  Dugbe Police Station, Osogbo,  SP Ogunkanmi Gbemileke and the two other pathologists from LAUTECH.

    Sholaja also said that before the autopsy, he gathered from a family member, Mrs Modupe Adeleke-Sani that the late politician had complained of pains in the knees, and inability to sleep.

    He added that some drugs were said to have been administered on him.

    Sholaja said after an examination was carried out on Adeleke’s body, it was discovered that the drugs which were administered on him in excess quantity caused his death as his breathing was blocked due to a side effect.

    “Aspiration of the gastric content blocked his airwaves through depriving the body of oxygen which was also evident in the bluish discolouration shown on some parts of the deceased’s body,” he said.

    He said the used containers of the drugs administered on him indicated that a banned drug,  Analgin injection as well as Diazepam injection, pentasozine injection, gentamicin and hydrocortisone drugs were given to him.

    The pathologist said the side effects of most of the drugs given to the deceased included drowsiness, vomiting and cardiovascular collapse which resulted in blockage of his breathing.

    He said though the deceased had a hypertensive heart decease which could have caused sudden death, there was, however, no evidence of this from the result of the autopsy.

    Sholaja also said the police toxicologist report, which was presented to him after samples were taken, showed abnormally high level of alcohol, sedative and Analgin in the blood of the deceased.

    No traces of poison and metal were, however, found.

    Gbemileke, the DPO of Dugbe Police Station and the Officer in charge of Homicide, SP Etetah Moses, both confirmed that the empty bottles and injections of the drugs given to the deceased were in police custody.

    But when Mr c, the nurse that administered  the drugs on Adeleke was called, his counsel, Lekan Alabi,  prayed  the court to allow his client appear on Friday.

    He said the summon was only served on him on Tuesday, adding that his client needed more time to prepare.

    The coroner, however, rejected the plea, saying Alfred must appear before the court on Thursday, the next adjourned date

     

  • LAUTECH students lock out UTME candidates

    LAUTECH students lock out UTME candidates

    Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology ( LAUTECH), Ogbomoso have shut the gates of the institution against UTME candidates scheduled to write their examination on Monday morning.

    The gates were locked after students leaders held a congress by 5am and resolved that the school will be lockdown and no Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination will hold until their demands are met.

    The demands include, a comprehensive academic calendar, commencement of lectures and a permanent resolution of the crisis in the institution.

    Unless the demands are met, the student leaders said they will continue to protest and ensure a total lockdown of the institution.

    The student leaders said the aim of the lockdown is to get the attention of the federal government on the plight of the institution.

  • ASUU accuses Oyo, Osun of planning to kill LAUTECH

    ASUU accuses Oyo, Osun of planning to kill LAUTECH

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) branch, has accused the two-owner states, Oyo and Osun, of planning to kill the institution.

    The union Chairman, Dr. Biodun Olaniran, who spoke yesterday in Ibadan, Oyo State,  explained the reason behind their proposed strike.

    He said the two states owed workers over seven months salary, “but surprisingly Oyo State has established a technical university, while the Osun government is running its university successfully.”

    Olaniran said: “We have begun ‘no salary no work’ action. We will embark on strike if the governments do not pay our outstanding salaries.

    “The seed of the crisis was sown when we started receiving dwindling funds from the states. The first ‘salvo’ was fired through an inexplicable stoppage of capital grants to the university. This affected the growth of the university. But thank God for ETF and TETFUND interventions, courtesy of ASUU struggles.”

    He said the governments should fund the university to prevent it from dying, adding that using students’ fees to pay salary was fraudulent.

  • Oyo govt appoints external auditors for LAUTECH, others

    The Oyo State Government has appointed external auditors to audit accounts of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) and other state-owned tertiary institutions.

    Education Commissioner Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela spoke with our reporter in Ibadan, the state capital.

    He said the auditors would examine the accounts of the institutions to ascertain their true financial and personnel status.

    The audit, Olowofela said, would enable the government to determine the level of intervention the schools required as well as their capacity for self-sustenance.

    The government, last year, reduced subventions to the institutions to 25 per cent, with a directive that they should look inward to generate revenue for self-sustenance as a panacea for the recession.

    Olowofela said the auditors would start work in two weeks, adding that the decision was among efforts to reposition education in the state.

    He said: “Government is in the process of appointing external auditors to enable the government know the state of finances and manpower of tertiary institutions owned by the state government. The auditors will commence work in two weeks. All these will help us reposition education in the state.”

  • LAUTECH: Oyo, Osun set up technical committee

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, and his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, have set up a 10-person technical committee to produce a white paper from the visitation panel’s reports on the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

    The visitation panel, chaired by legal luminary Wole Olanipekun (SAN), set up by the two owner-states to investigate the crises rocking LAUTECH and recommend short-term and long term solutions, submitted its report to Ajimobi and Aregbesola last week.

    Ajimobi’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy Yomi Layinka announced this at a briefing in Ibadan yesterday.

    The technical committee, chaired by Ajimobi’s Chief of Staff Gbade Ojo, will begin its sitting today.

    It is expected to submit a white paper on the visitation panel’s report within two weeks.

    The Director of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Oyo State, Kunle Adeosun, will serve as secretary.

    The owner-states set four-point terms of reference for the committee, which include looking at the recommendations of the panel and review whatever inadequacies that might be in the recommendations.

    The committee is also expected to come up with pragmatic recommendations for the reopening of the school and its sustainability without necessarily bringing financial burden to the owners.

    Members of the committee also from Oyo State are Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Seun Abimbola; permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance, David Olatunde; permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Ronke Makanjuola and Chairman, Oyo State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Afeez Adeleke.

    Members of the committee from Osun State are former permanent secretary, Cabinet Office, Obafemi Akinyele; permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance, Adebimpe Ogunlumade, permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Sunday Olajide; Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Education, Folorunsho Bamisayemi.

  • LAUTECH: ASUU demands release of report

    LAUTECH: ASUU demands release of report

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has called on the two owner-states to release the visitation panel report on the institution.
    This was contained in a statement by its Chairman, Dr Biodun Olaniran.
    ASUU said it was pertinent that the report was released, saying the content would go a long way in affecting their careers at the university.
    The statement said: “Why are the owner-governments hiding the report from the public? Does the report contain facts which both governments are uncomfortable with?
    “Are the governments really interested in the panel’s report or they just put it in place to create impression that the LAUTECH issue was being attended to at that time.’’
    It insisted that the contents of the report be made available before the strike was reviewed, querying that “which union worth its salt will walk blindfolded into an uncertain future without demanding to know the details of a document that will dictate its future”.
    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the owner-states, Oyo and Osun, had on October 19, last year set up a visitation panel headed by Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
    the management had announced the re-opening of the institution on Jan. 27 after eight months of protracted crisis.
    ASUU, however, had refused to resume academic activities on the grounds that it would ensure that future funding of the institution by the owner states was guaranteed.