Alao-Akala faces fresh hurdle

Oyo State Governor, Adebayo Al

The Governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, is heading for a fresh showdown with lecturers of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, over the proposed merger of the institution with the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.

This is coming barely 24 hours after the state government got a breather from the prolonged strike by workers in the public service.

A statement by the lecturers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, premised their opposition to the consolidation of the two state-owned institutions on their incompatible mandate and orientation.

The October 3 statement by the Chairman of ASUP, Mr. Segun Akindele, and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Muyiwa Ojo, said the step would reduce admission opportunities for the indigenes of the state.

Since the Federal Government that mooted the idea had since shelved it, they queried the motive behind the proposed merger by the state government.

The lecturers said that since LAUTECH was owned by Oyo and Osun States, it would amount to selling the polytechnic to Osun state government.

The statement said, “The committee on the proposed consolidation is totally and technically imbalanced.

“Most of them are made up of university background.

They do not understand our system at the polytechnic.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Communication, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, said the past administration in the state set up a committee on the consolidation of tertiary institutions.

He said, “The institutions affected in the consolidation are not limited to The Ibadan Polytechnic alone, but all the tertiary institutions.”