ASUU protest rocks Osogbo

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday took to the streets of Osogbo to protest the alleged neglect of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho.

The protesters, in their hundreds, carried placards with various inscriptions such as “Oyo/Osun, Don’t Play Politics with the Lives of Our Students,” and “Do Not Kill the Best State University in Nigeria’’ among others.

Speaking with newsmen after the peaceful protest, the Coordinator of Akure Zone of ASUU, Prof. Alex Odiyi, said that the neglect of LAUTECH had created problems for the union.

He said the protest was to compel the two owner- states of Osun and Oyo to rise up to their responsibilities.

Odiyi, who led other coordinators and branch chairpersons of other universities in the protest, said the neglect of the university had led to a decay of infrastructure in the institution.

He alleged that the state governments had reneged on the Memorandum of Agreement signed with the union before the last strike was called off.

Odiyi noted that apart from non-payment of salaries and arrears, the owner-states had also refused to fund the university.

Our correspondent reports that LAUTECH-ASUU is currently on a two- week warning strike over the crisis in the university.