Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has declared that his administration will continue to put in the necessary resources to ensure that the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, remains on the ascendancy of academic excellence.
The Governor, who stated this while receiving the Governing Council and the Management Team of LAUTECH at the Courtesy Room of the Governor’s Office, on Monday, said that he is gladdened by the progress made so far by the University.
He added that the success story of LAUTECH helped greatly in how his administration succeeded with the planned upgrade of Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo to a University of Education.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the Governor as appreciating the people of Ogbomosoland and the LAUTECH community for their support in the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly election, adding that his government would not let them down as it moves into the second term of four years.
He said: “Ogbomoso and the LAUTECH community spoke loud and clear for me. Not only did you deliver in that election, you gave us the members of the House of the Assembly that will work with us. It was a complete departure from what happened four years ago, when I won just one local government out of five. This time around, we got 5/5.
“I am also glad at the progress we made (on LAUTECH) because the naysayers thought the victory won’t happen and after it happened, they said we cannot sustain it. They have been looking for all sorts of excuses.
“Even, we had disinformation in the period leading to the election. They said all the LAUTECH courses have been taken away from Ogbomoso to somewhere else. They went to Iseyin too and said the government had been lying and that nothing had been brought to Iseyin. Well, people didn’t listen to them and that is why I want to use this opportunity to say thank you, Ogbomosoland and LAUTECH community.”
Governor Makinde, who stated that the state government was aware of the challenges being faced by LAUTECH, said his government will always be committed to the institution, adding that the resources already put into the University’s Campus in Iseyin and the fixing of the Ogbomoso-Fapote-Iseyin Road were proofs of that commitment.
“I also want to add that I know some of the challenges you are faced with. Few weeks back, Professor (Ayodeji) Omole was chasing me around about the subvention and I called the Commissioner for Finance.
“Yes, we were angry because we felt you should not have gone on that strike in the first instance. But it has happened and we are back together. In every relationship, you must have disagreement but sometimes misunderstanding may be because of not engaging enough or when a right message has not been properly passed across.
“So, let me say it once again that this administration is committed and will always be committed to LAUTECH. Not only have we put resources into the Iseyin campus of the University, the link between Ogbomoso and Iseyin is almost done. It will take less than an hour to move from the main campus to the College at Iseyin. And for us, it is also integrating the economies of those major zones of Oyo State.
“We will continue to put resources into LAUTECH itself and I am proud of what you all have achieved in terms of quickly turning things around for LAUTECH.
“When I went to meet with NUC to ask for support for Emmanuel Alayande, they said, look, we have seen what you guys are doing at LAUTECH and don’t even tell us any story.
“Just get your letter of approval. So, it is a testimony to the harmonious working relationship between LAUTECH management, the Governing Council and the government as regards LAUTECH.
“So, we want to keep that up as we also know that challenges will come. We should be able to look ourselves straight in the face and tell us what the challenges are while we attend to them in the best interest of our people.
“Lastly, I will say that the reward for hard work is more work. So, we will remain committed to put in all the hardworking that is necessary to have the University we have been dreaming about and the state because we don’t want to live any zone behind,” the governor added.
Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof Omole said that the university is already living the dream of the governor by making the institurion a university of first choice, adding that it is already oversubscribed.
He said that the institution was poised to perform even better with the establishment of the campus in Iseyin.
He also requested the state government to tap the myriads of professionals in its employ for consultancy works, to enable the school raise more revenue.
