Ogbomoso indigenes under the aegis of Ogbomoso Descendants Development Association (ODDA), on Saturday, condemned in strong terms the proposal of the Oyo State Government to turn Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) into a multi-campus institution.
In a statement issued and signed on Saturday by its Public Relations Officer, Comrade Aremu Segun, the group said it was a calculated onslaught against Ogbomosoland and vowed to resist such action.
He said: “We, the Ogbomosos are not only taken aback but pained when the state government confirmed the hitherto rumoured next stage of the political onslaught against our Ogbomosoland by its Wednesday announcement of the proposed bill to make the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso into a multi-campus institution.
“With the current sole-ownership of LAUTECH, all zones in Oyo State are now having one or two state institutions namely Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo;College of Agriculture, Igboora; Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa;Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki; Technical University, Ibadan and the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.
“But before this, while LAUTECH was still co-owned by both Oyo and Osun States, none of these other institutions were established to be multi-campus and none till date is multi-campus; why then trying to share LAUTECH as if it is spoils of war?”
The association commended the efforts of the Oyo State governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, and his Osun State counterpart, Gboyega Oyetola, in resolving the ownership crisis that has kept the institution aground for long, and appealed to Makinde not to allow himself to be misled by “those who are executing political onslaught against Ogbomosoland.”
