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Students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, on Monday caused traffic gridlock along major roads in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, demanding the “immediate and unconditional reopening of the school”
The angry students started the protest at the Correspondent Chapel in Ibadan and marched along Queen Elizabeth road, disrupting traffic and distributing fliers to show their grievances.
LAUTECH which is jointly owned by Oyo and Osun states, has been shut down for more than seven months owing to financial crisis that crippled academic activities.
The protests occurred despite assurances by the Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, that the school would be resume academic activities before the end of January.
Governor Ajimobi dropped the hint on Friday after a meeting with the national, zonal and state leadership of the students’ unions in his office.
Ajimobi said he had closed ranks with his Osun State counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to break the logjam in the overall interest of the stakeholders.
READ: BREAKING: Thugs invade LAUTECH, beat up Osun indigenes
But during the protests on Monday, the students demanded the following:
- Immediate and unconditional reopening of LAUTECH with friendly living and learning conditions
- Government should cut its outrageous salaries and allowances with more priorities placed on adequate funding of education
- Outright rejection of any hike in fee (wherther in LAUTECH of any other campus, Stalite or Fresher) as an alternative to adequate education funding.
- Immediate unbanning of the Students’ Union with a guarantee of full right to Independent Students’ Unionism.
- the Osun and Oyo State Government must as a matter of great exigency, pay the salaries of the striking workers without compromising the living standard and right to accessible education of students.
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