Following the plan by the LAUTECH Chapter of Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) to embark on an industrial action over unpaid salaries by the management of the insitution, the Oyo State House of Assembly has summoned the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Adeniyi Gbadegesin and the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela.
The invitation, according to the Assembly, became necessary in order to resolve the lingering crisis that has bedevilled the institution in the last couple of years due to non-payment of workers’ salaries.
Moving a motion on the “urgent need to avert another indefinite industrial action at LAUTECH”, Hon. (Mrs) Olawumi Oladeji, who represents Ogbomoso North argued that “prior to the suspension of the last strike action by the unions in the university, an MOU was signed with the management on behalf of the governing council but now the content and the spirit of the agreement have been breached.
According to the lawmaker, “accumulation of arrears of unpaid salaries still continued and remain unsettled, and the staff of the university has to endure hardship and various financial embarrassments due to non-payment of salaries like seven and a half months months of arrears.”
She further declared that the staff unions in the university are planning to embark on an indefinite strike action “if urgent intervention is not taken by the two owner states to rescue the situation. She argued further that students who suffer for it, as “they may engage themselves in aimless wandering and criminal activities because, like they say, an idle hand is the devil’s workshop”.
After thorough deliberation on the motion, the Assembly thereby summoned the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin and the State Commissioner for Education, Professor Adeniyi Olowofela to appear before it at the next sitting.
Meanwhile, in another deelopment, the house has mandated its Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters to investigate the alleged missing of about 320 government owned tractors in 20 of the state Local Government Areas. This became necessary as the tractors that were distributed by the state government to all its local government areas in 2013 has allegedly declared missing and nowhere to be found around the council offices.
The investigation which is expected to put questions across to both present and past Council Chairpersons and member of their Caretaker/Transition Committee will also ascertain whether or not the 320 tractors are deployed for the purpose they were been bought.
The committee Chair, Hon. Bolaji Badmos therefore promised that the committee will do everything possible to retrieve the tractors from beneficiaries who have reneged or neglected to fulfill their responsibilities on the tractors leased out to them, and as well unraveled the amount gained or recovered from the leasing out of the tractors by each L.G.A and whether the 4 tractors meant for hiring are presently at the council premises.
Earlier during the plenary, Hon. Olaleru Adebayo from Kajola State Constituency doubled as the House Deputy Chief Whip had observed that the tractors which are meant to be leased out or put up for hire to farmers in the L.G.A may have grown wings. He noted that there are information that some of the tractors were not more sighted at local governments and may have been sold out to neighboring countries.
Olaleru observed: “It was alleged that in virtually all the affected local governments, the beneficiaries did not pay back to the coffers of government as agreed. This amounts to breaching of agreement for the lease of the tractors. Investigation further revealed that, the laudable programme has suffered setback due to its politicization. The beneficiaries have taken undue advantage of the scheme for their personal benefit.
“Some of these tractors are presently not within the jurisdiction of the local government area. Some allotees have decided to take away the tractors outside the local governments. Regrettably, our own farmers that supposed to benefit from the laudable programme are being deprived through the unscrupulous act of these people,” Olaleru said.
The house further agreed that there should be no sacred cow in the course of investigation, noting that the outcome report may indict both serving and former public office holders at different levels of government.
It was in 2013 that Governor Abiola Ajimobi distributed 16 tractors each to 20 agrarian local government areas, out of which 12 are to be leased out for farming purposes at about N4 million each, while four are for hire.
The committee has three weeks to submit its report.
