Osun, Oyo agree to re-open LAUTECH before January ending, says Ajimobi 

The crisis rocking the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), may soon be over as Governor Abiola Ajimobi, has announced that normal academic activities would commence in the institution before the end of January.

Already, Ajimobi said he has commenced discussions plans with his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, to ensure that knotty issues confronting the institution are addressed.

The governor disclosed this after a meeting with the national, zonal and state leadership of the students’ unions in his office.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, at the end of the meeting said the decision was reached after another round of discussions by the stakeholders, including Aregbesola and LAUTECH Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adeniyi Gbadegesin, aimed at finding a lasting solution to the debacle.

The university had been grounded for about eight months following a strike action by the academic and non-academic staff of the institution over unpaid salaries and emoluments.

Ajimobi and Aregbesola, had led top officials of the state to a meeting in Ibadan, last October, to proffer a lasting solution to the lingering disagreement.

Representatives of the two owner states had 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.

In furtherance of the consultations, Ajimobi had again met with the representatives of the students’ union at the Executive Council Chambers of his office, on Friday.

The 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.