ASUU LAUTECH finally begins strike

FINALLY, academic activities at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have ceased, as the local branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared an indefinite strike over the failure of the two owner states of Oyo and Osun to address the issues tabled before them.

The chairman of the LAUTECH ASUU, Dr ’Biodun Olaniran, told the Nigerian Tribune, on Monday, that the union, at its congress held on Monday, decided to embark on strike because there was “nothing forthcoming” from the two state governments over its demands.

The two non-academic staff unions in the institution, Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), had been on strike since July over issues bordering on staff welfare.

The university had also remained closed to undergraduate students since mid-June following students’ protest; but ASUU members were, till Monday, attending to postgraduate students and final year students working on their projects.

By the end of September, it would have been five months since salaries were paid in the university; while there has been a backlog of unpaid Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) dating back to 2012.

Subventions have not been released to the university for 17 months. The institution has been running on internally generated revenue (IGR) the Nigerian Tribune gathered.

“On different occasions, ASUU had reached out to the Governing Council of the university to contact the two owner state governors and educate them on why the monthly subvention should be provided as and when due, but such pieces of advice were ignored,” Olaniran had told the Nigerian Tribune on Thursday.

“Cases of lecturers collapsing during lectures have been reported. This desperate search for IGR is also greatly compromising academic standards in our university,” the union said.

When contacted over the development on Thursday, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr Lekan Fadeyi, had told the Nigerian Tribune that he believed the two governors (Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo and Mr Rauf Aregbesola, Osun) were working towards resolving the problem.

“I think the two governors are meeting, and I’m aware there have been series of meetings of management and the governing council.

“I’m aware the management is working round the clock. Postgraduate students are having their classes. Things are being worked out, and I’m sure that resumption will be sooner than expected,” Fadeyi said.