Oyo Assembly summons LAUTECH VC, Commissioner over 7 months salary arrears

In a bid to avert the looming strike, the Oyo State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, called on the two owner state governments led by Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Governor Rauf Aregbesola to urgently take proactive steps to avert another strike.

Deliberating on the issue brought up by Honourable Wumi Oladeji of Ogbomoso North constituency, as a matter of urgent public, the Assembly implored the Oyo and Osun governments to clear some of the outstanding salaries of LAUTECH staff.

Aside from the issue of salaries arrears, Oladeji had also called on the technical committee chaired by Dr. Gbade Ojo, examining the Olanipekun visitation panel report, to release the requisite white paper.

The Assembly consequently mandated its Committee on Education, Science, and Technology, to meet with relevant stakeholders and report its findings next week.
Tribune Online gathered that the technical committee report is ready and due for an official presentation to the two owner state governors.

It would be recalled that the two owner state governments, as part of measures to ensure the viability of LAUTECH had engaged an auditing firm to examine the institution’s financial account and personnel over the years.

The Osun and Oyo state governments had hinged the auditing on wanting to fathom why LAUTECH can’t be able to run on Internally Generated Revenue.

Recently speaking on the LAUTECH issue, Governor Rauf Aregbesola noted that the recommendations offered by the auditing firm after the financial and staff audit would provide a lasting solution to the institution’s challenges.

He, therefore, appealed to the forbearance of the academic staff and students of the institution pending the completion of the auditing exercise.

“We engaged an international audit firm to know why LAUTECH can’t run within its own resource base. The University should be able to fend for itself. We are pained that the school is challenged. My appeal to the management, academia, students is to exercise some patience. We will soon get out of the challenges we have with LAUTECH. We are quite conscious of the difficulties we are facing. When we are done with the audit, we will come up with a lasting solution,” Aregbesola said.

Similarly, Oyo Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Niyi Olowofela, speaking with Tribune Online, appealed to the ASUU to take into cognizance the trying economic situation in the country and await the report of the auditing firm.

“They should allow the auditing firm complete the audit of the account and personnel of LAUTECH. Afterwards, the recommendations of the audit firm will be complied with by the two state governments, then the LAUTECH issue will be resolved permanently,” Olowofela said.

Source: Tribune Online