The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) chapter, has vowed to continue with the ongoing ASUU strike.
The Union made this declaration on Wednesday in reaction to the threat by Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, to stop payment of subventions until lecturers returned to the classroom.
In a statement jointly signed by the Union’s Chairman and Secretary, Professors Biodun Olaniran and Toyin Abegunrin, after their Congress, said any branch that broke the strike would lose out on the rewards of the struggle, including infrastructure development.
The Union stated that its members had decided to press on with the strike and see it through to its logical conclusion, which they said was “imminent.”
According to the union, the government should regard students as beneficiaries of the ASUU strike, as most state governments’ assistance in the form of subvention has been used as part-payment of salaries.
In the statement, the Union stated that it was startled to learn from the Commissioner of Education, Rahman Abdu-Raheem, that the state had been paying LAUTECH 100% subvention when the University administration indicated to the Union that only 55% came from the government,
The university has sought the remaining 45 percent through Internally Generated Revenue, according to the report.
The ASUU leaders stated that the commissioner’s claim on subvention had created further distrust between the management and the unions as to who was telling the truth.
According to LAUTECH ASUU, the responsibilities of capital projects had been totally abdicated and surrendered to TETFUND and NEEDS assess projects of ASUU’s struggles.
They further noted that lecturers were very sensitive to the plight of the students but that the government should thank the union for the struggle which had helped in training its members in human capacity Development through TETFUND grants.
