Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso chapter, has accused Oyo and Osun states, joint owners of the institution, of playing politics with the future of students and staff of the institution.
The alarm was raised by the Chairman and Secretary of the union, Biodun Olaniran and Toyin Abegunrin, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday.
They said the politics being played by the owner states bordered on poor funding, adding that LAUTECH has two teaching hospitals with one in Osogbo in Osun and in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
ASUU had last week threatened to disrupt academic activities if the government that was scheduled to pay salaries between July and December failed to pay outstanding August and September salaries.
But Secretary to the Osun State Government, Wole Oyebamiji, said ASUU was misguided by the accusation against the state of the state, saying the state had kept faith with payment of salaries of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital workers in Osogbo.
ASUU, however, described the statement by the Osun State Government as outright lies and deceptive assemblage of figures with a propagandist mindset.
“Osun State should be ready to explain to the public if there was an arrangement between the two states (Oyo and Osun) to pay LAUTECH salaries on six monthly basis? How faithfully has Osun been discharging its own share of this responsibility since 2013?
“Osun State should also toe the path of honour by telling the public how many teaching hospitals service LAUTECH’s medical programme? If Osun State has been funding the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Osogbo, who has been funding the LAUTECH Teaching hospital in Ogbomoso?
“If Oyo State has not neglected the release of salary subvention to LAUTECH workers, just because the state funds the teaching hospital in Ogbomoso why is Osun hiding under the excuse that it has been paying salaries in the teaching hospital in Osogbo alone?
“The two teaching hospitals have their separate governing boards, their memberships are separately drawn from individuals within their states and the financial obligations are borne separately by individual states. For Osun to insinuate that Oyo has been cheating it because of this arrangement is factually incorrect and realistically deceptive.
“To this, we ask Osun to stop hiding behind one finger. May we also ask why is it that it is only when it comes to Osun’s turn to pay salaries in LAUTECH that they start looking for issues to complain about?”