Some old students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, under the banner of LAUTECH Alumnus Lecturers on Thursday defied the directive from the Association Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), LAUTECH branch to continue with the ongoing industrial action.
ASUU Chairman of the institution, Dr Abiodun Olaniran, had on Wednesday issued a statement warning the lectures to boycott the directive from the management of the school to resume work on Thursday.
The union argued that LAUTHEC is part of the national struggle of the union and it is not ready to call off the strike until the strike is over at the national level.
But the alumni association in a press statement in Ogbomoso on Thursday said it was ready to save the institution from further embarrassment and hereby directed members who are lecturers in the institution to resume duty.
The alumni expressed sadness over the fortune of the institution which recently resumed, after almost two years of strike because of underfunding by the owner-states of Oyo and Osun.
An alumnus working in the school hinted reporters in Ogbomoso that “given the recent development, enrolment ratio has dwindled as many prospective students offering ‘JAMB’ keep running away from opting for LAUTECH as a university of choice.”
The press statement signed by Prof. Omotayo Amuda and Dr. Azeem Ige on behalf of all LAUTECH Alumni nationwide and in Diaspora noted that “we can no longer fold our arms and watch the institution go into oblivion as a result of protracted ASUU strike actions both at local and national thus culminating into about two sessions of non–academic activities.
“This is to bring the notice of the public that arising from rigorous deliberations at the several meetings of LAUTECH Alumni, it was resolved hereby that the academic staff that are alumni members of LAUTECH resume academic activities today, 3rd January, 2019.
“The students (stale and fresh) that have fulfilled their financial obligations to the university in terms of payment of tuition fees are hereby advised to resume classrooms from today 3rd of January, 2019 as academic activities have resumed in earnest”.
“The association also implore other colleagues to join hands and salvage the horrible state of LAUTECH,” they added.
When contacted on phone on Thursday, Olaniran told Daily Trust that the only body that has the right to call off the strike is ASUU saying he was not aware of the resumption.
