Nigeria Content Online

The animosity
between the governments of Oyo and Osun states over the ownership of
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) may soon become
worse, as the Oyo state government tinkers with the idea of opening a
campus of the institution at Iseyin by the middle of the year.

Controversial vice chancellor of the university, Moshood Olanrewaju
Nassir, who disclosed this during a courtesy call on the Aseyin of
Iseyin, Oba Abdulganiyu Adekunle Salawu, Ajinase 1, said all the
necessary arrangements have been concluded to ensure the immediate
take-off of the campus. According to him, the new campus will house the
faculty of education of the university and will admit students
immediately after its opening.

The two sister states have engaged each
other in confrontations over the ownership of the university, which was
established when the two were one state. Oyo State governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala’s unilateral decision to rupture the joint ownership
structure of the university has created tension in the institution,
with the staff and students bearing the brunt.

Problems of ownership

Though the battle
had been on before Rauf Aregbesola assumed office as the Osun state
governor, the fact that he does not belong to the People’s Democratic
Party with Mr. Alao-Akala, promises a fiercer battle between the two
states over the institution. Despite the intervention of elders of the
PDP, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Aregbesola’s predecessor, had insisted that
he was not ready to let go of the joint ownership structure of LAUTECH,
and the battle raged until his removal from office late last year.

The beat of war was
still booming when Mr. Aregbesola assumed office with a recent warning
from the governor that Mr. Alao-Akala should stop issuing orders to
workers of the institution as if it were solely owned by Oyo state.

Speaking with the
Aseyin during the recent visit, Mr. Nassar, who was there with members
of his governing board, said: “Our visit is a step towards giving
credibility and fulfillment to the promise of his excellency, the
executive governor of Oyo state, Otunba Christopher Alao-Akala, during
his visit to Iseyin that a campus of the university would be sited in
Iseyin.

“With this visit,
the people of Iseyin and indeed Oke-Ogun area can be rest assured that
all machineries are being put in motion to ensure that students are
admitted into the proposed campus soonest.”

He appealed for the cooperation of the people of the town as
students and staff of the institution would rely on them for
accommodation and security. The monarch, in his response, said that the
opening of the campus was long overdue, arguing that Iseyin was one of
the only two big cities without a higher institution.