Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso Chapter on Sunday cautioned both the Oyo and Osun State Governments to stop playing politics with the lives of staff and students of the institution.
According to the body, the welfare of its members remains paramount saying that it would do everything possible not to expose its members to economic hardship.
The institution’s ASUU Chairman, Dr Biodun Olaniran in a release jointly signed by its Secretary, Dr Toyin Abegunrin stated that the payment of salaries and owed arrears of allowances to its members remain paramount and would not be traded for politics between the owner states.
ASUU had last week threatened to disrupt academic activities if Osun State Government which it said was scheduled to pay salaries between July and December fails to pay the outstanding August and September salaries.
Osun state Government, however, through its Secretary to the State Government, Wole Oyebamiji had said ASUU was misguided by the accusation against the state.
Osun state maintained that Oyo State reneged on the agreement of paying salaries, adding that it had kept faith with paying salaries of LAUTECH teaching hospital workers in Osogbo.
The ASUU chairman described the press release of the Osun State Government as “outright lies, deceptive assemblage of figures with a propagandist mindset”.
“Now to the facts of the matter, 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, Osun State, who has been funding the LAUTECH Teaching hospital in Ogbomoso, Oyo state? If Oyo State has not neglected the release of salary subvention to LAUTECH workers, just because the state funds the teaching hospital in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, why is Osun State 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?”