LAUTECH old fees stand, says Aregbesola

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has criticised his Oyo State counterpart, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, for claiming sole ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso.

Aregbesola condemned the hike in school fees allegedly announced by Alao-Akala and ordered students to pay the old fees.

He urged the people to ignore “unilateral decisions” taken by Alao-Akala.

The governor said the law, which established the university, had not been repealed.

Aregbesola said: “Alao-Akala took his madness to an unimaginable level, when he announced the appropriation of the institution by Oyo State.

“This is a decision that has no backing of the people of Oyo State, who are law abiding and stand for justice. It is there in history that the foundation of progressives in Yoruba land was laid in Ibadan.

“I’m bothered by Alao-Akala’s intransigence, as reflected by three recent acts of illegality undertaken by him.

“The first is the unilateral proclamation of ownership of the institution on behalf of Oyo State.

“The second is the unilateral hiking of school fees without consulting Osun State. Fees were increased from N40,000 to N90,000 for indigenes and N100,000 for non-indigenes. This is an increment of 125 per cent and 150 per cent. It is outrageous, insensitive and indecent.

“As co-owner of the institution, I am, on behalf of Osun State, declaring that there is no increment in school fees. The fees remain as they were before his announcement. No single state government can unilaterally increase school fees.

“The third is the appointment of Vice-Chancellor and Registrar for the university, following the illegal sack of former occupants of the positions.”

Aregbesola said the institution, which was founded in 1990 by the old Oyo State, became the joint property of Oyo and Osun States following the creation of the latter on August 27, 1991.

He said: “The interesting thing about this joint ownership is that Oyo State could not carry the financial burden alone at that time. The school was run down, its paltry infrastructure was collapsing and the needed expansion could not be carried out. An agreement was then reached between the states to jointly own it and share the financial burden equally. No state has better claim of ownership than the other. It was 50-50 and never 60-40.

“It was wisely decided then that it would be more economical for both states to pull resources together and run one university, than for each state to finance its own.

“It is an adorable model, for instance, for the entire Southwest to have a single university with multi-campuses, thereby cutting down considerably on duplication of administration, courses and facilities.

“It is most appalling that a governor, who is a creation of law, will easily lend himself to perpetrating illegality. Ironically, this is coming from a governor that had law enforcement antecedent. Was he not a policeman trained to enforce laws? How come he is so steeped in illegality?

“Alao-Akala woke up one morning and had a brain wave to establish a College of Medicine in his native Ogbomoso. He apparently did not seek the necessary legal and medical opinion or rejected sound counsel on the absurdity of his proposal. He nevertheless went ahead.

“This is in blatant violation of the law setting up the institution, which states clearly that its College of Medicine shall be in Osogbo. It is reassuring that the Medical and Dental Council has refused to accredit the Ogbomoso medical school. The body will not lend its weight behind executive lawlessness.

“Alao-Akala has made futile efforts to close down the College of Medicine in Osogbo and transfer the staff to the illegal one in Ogbomoso. He also attempted to turn the people of the states against one another and has been instigating the good people of Ogbomoso against the government and people of Osun State.

“It is a sad irony that the same revered seat in Agodi, where the golden eggs of Yoruba patrimony were incubated by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, is now occupied by a barbarian and philistine to boot, who has made an art of trampling on and desecrating this heritage.

“There is no doubt that LAUTECH needs funding, but both owner-states must fully explore all available avenues without necessarily putting the burden on parents.

“We dissociate ourselves from every unilateral action purportedly taken by Alao-Akala on LAUTECH, making such to be an exercise in futility.

“The Oyo State government has rebuffed all attempts to resolve the crisis amicably, even with the intervention of highly placed Yoruba leaders. This suggests that the governor has personal interest in prolonging the crisis.

“Alao-Akala is a transient occupier of the seat of government in Oyo State. Yoruba people are one, with common history, origin and culture. They have shared the same adversaries, had common travails and savoured common victories. We are not going to allow him cut the bond that holds our people together.

“Alao-Akala is a mere bird of passage, which cannot determine the fundamentals of the terrain over which it has flown. I plead for patience and understanding, until the good people of Oyo State ease out the bull in the China shop at next month’s election, before it causes much damage.”

Aregbesola said the matter was before the Supreme Court and National Universities Commission (NUC).

Alao-Akala’s Special Adviser on Public Communications Dotun Oyelade said in a statement that Aregbesola’s diatribe on his boss was not unexpected.

He said Aregbesola should not use “indecorous language” on a fellow governor.　

Oyelade said: “If two governments signed a mutual agreement last October 26 on LAUTECH, that agreement is binding on whoever is in the saddle of the state.”