The lawmaker representing Ogo-Oluwa /Surulere federal constituency in the House of Representative, Hon. Olusegun Odebunmi has urged the National Universities Commission, NUC, in the irregular payment of salaries of staff of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
He made the plea while moving a motion on the need to intervene and help the helpless students, at the floor of the House of Representatives, Abuja.
The institution has been embroiled in crisis for many months following the non payment of salary of workers of the institution.
Only recently, some students of the institution prevented students writing this year’s computer-based test, CBT, of the unified tertiary matriculation examination, UTME, from entering the school premises.
According to ’Bunvic’, as the two-term lawmaker is popularly known, “Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso is one of the centers designated for candidates to write the examination which ensures proximity to the examination center for candidates from Ogbomoso and its environs.”
Speaking further, he said that the JAMB examination candidates were prevented when, “students of Ladoke Akintola University locked up the gate to the institution while embarking on a protest, thereby preventing candidates from entering the University to write the examination, an action that cast a pall on the educational future of the candidates.
He however said that, the “action of the students of the University was borne out of long standing disagreement between the Governments of Oyo and Osun States over ownership and management of the University, a situation that has led to perpetual suspension of academic activities at the institution and put the future of the students and others who depend on the institution for sustenance at great jeopardy.”
Meanwhile the motion scaled through when it was put to voice vote by the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara.
The House has resolved to investigate the reported prevention of UTME candidates by students of LAUTECH from writing their examinations on the campus.
To this end, the House mandated the Committee on Tertiary Education and Services to interface with the JAMB leadership on the need to arrange an alternative date for the affected candidates to write their examination.
The House also resolved to engage the National Universities Commission (NUC) to find a lasting solution to the lingering dispute between the two owner States as well as other internal crisis in the University and report back in four (4) weeks for further legislative action.
