By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Friday said academic activities may resume at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, on or before February 1 this year.
The governor according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka made available to journalists in Ibadan said this after a meeting with the national, zonal and state leadership of the students’ unions in his office on Friday.
Governor Ajimobi declared that he is presently collaborating with his Osun State counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to ensure the reopening of the Institution shut over six months ago following the strike action embarked upon by the academic and non-academic staff of the university over unpaid salaries and emoluments.
The governor specifically announced that LAUTECH would be reopened on or before February 1 going by the level of his discussions with his Osun State counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
“With today’s pronouncement, it is hoped that all stakeholders including the management, staff and students of LAUTECH will begin to put adequate machinery in place preparatory to full resumption of academic and non-academic activities in the university.”
He maintained that the decision to reopen LAUTECH was reached after another round of discussions by the stakeholders on Friday afternoon, including Aregbesola and LAUTECH Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adeniyi Gbadegesin, aimed at finding a lasting solution to the debacle.
While thanking the student delegation for their concerns, the governor stressed that the two owner states regret the huge loss of valuable time to all stakeholders, especially the students whose academic calendar has been significantly disrupted by the prolonged closure.
He blamed the predicament of the Institution on the constraints currently being experienced on account of the debilitating effects of the recession on the two governor’s respective capacities to meet the demands of the striking workers,adding that all efforts at persuading the striking workers to resume they refused to yield grounds.
The students team was led by the Senate President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Salam Olajide; General Secretary, NANS, South-West zone, Olanrewaju Oloja; and General Secretary, Joint Campus Committee, NANS, Oyo State, Farouk Musa.
It will be recalled that representatives of the two owner states met last Tuesday in Osogbo to agree on the way out of the crisis prior to Friday’s round of talks culminating in the agreement to reopen the school.
