Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan 

Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday summoned the Vice-Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, Prof. Adeniyi Gbadegesin and the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, to appear before it over the lingering crisis in the institution.  

The summon was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance titled, "Urgent need to avert another indefinite industrial action at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso", moved by Hon. Olawumi Oladeji, representing Ogbomoso North State Constituency. 

Oladeji in her motion said before the suspension of the strike action by the unions in the university, a MOU was signed with the management on behalf of the governing council, stating that the content and the spirit of the agreement had been breached. 

She said, "Accumulation of arrears of unpaid salaries still continued unsettled, staff of the university now endure hardship and various financial embarrassments due to non-payment of salaries I.e.7 1/2 months of arrears." 

She disclosed that the staff unions in the university are planning to embark on an indefinite strike action, warning that if urgent intervention is not taken by the two owner states to rescue the situation, the students of the university would engage themselves in aimless wandering and criminal activities as "idle hand is the devil's workshop". 

She then urged the House to call on the Technical Committee set up on the crisis in the institution to hasten up their assignment and submit their report without further delay. 

After contributions by members, the Speaker, Hon. Michael Adeyemo, then ordered for the invitation of Gbadegesin and Olowofela, to appear before the Committee on Education, Science and Technology, with a view to making clarifications on the actual indebtness of the two owner states and suggest possible means of getting out of the woods.   

He however called on both the Oyo and Osun state governments to urgently take actions on payment of outstanding salaries of LAUTECH staff for posterity sake.