THE Osun State Government has assured its indigenes working in Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, that the recent dissolution of its joint ownership between the state and Oyo state will not affect their jobs.
Funke Egbemode, Osun State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, made this known in a statement on Saturday.
“All workers of Osun extraction either in the College of Health Sciences and LAUTECH ceded to Osun or those in Ogbomoso are assured of job security. There will be no intimidation or discrimination against them in the discharge of their duties,” parts of the statement said.
“The agreement states that indigenes of Oyo and Osun State working in either of the two entities will retain all their rights and obligations stipulated in their letters of engagements, therefore the State Government of Osun wishes to inform citizens that there is no need to fret about the dissolution, as all workers of Osun extraction are assured of the security of their jobs.”
Funke said Osun students in the institution will also not be subjected to fees or admission differentials. They will pay the same tuition fees as their Oyo counterparts.
Yesterday, The ICIR had reported that Abubakar Rasheed, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), at a press briefing in Abuja announced the dissolution of joint ownership of the institution.
Abubakar said the commission has ceded the institution to the Oyo State government following a mutual agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two states that the joint ownership be dissolved.
The NUC boss however added that the Osun State Government is to take over the institution’s College of Health Sciences in Osogbo.
Abubakar expressed optimism that the new arrangement would restore peace to LAUTECH.
“It is gratifying to note that after extensive deliberations, negotiations and consultations, both owner states mutually agreed terms, and the joint ownership of LAUTECH was formally dissolved,” he said.
The joint ownership of the institution has always been an issue of contention between the two states.
LAUTECH was established in 1990 by the old Oyo State Government with the main campus located in Ogbomoso. The teaching hospital was subsequently established in Osogbo. When Osun State was carved out of the old Oyo State in 1991, both states became joint owners of the institution.
The joint ownership of the institution has always been an issue of contention between the two states.
In 2017, the institution’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities embarked on a protracted strike that crippled academic activities for months over the neglect of the school by both the Oyo and Osun State governments respectively.
In 2019, Seyi Makinde, Oyo State governor, had stated during a visit to the institution that the perennial and persistent industrial action experienced by LAUTECH, will be resolved if it is transferred to the state.
He said the state was financially prepared to shoulder the responsibility of the school if the proposal is granted.
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