By Adeyinka Adeniran
Oyo State government on Monday said it has paid up to N5billion to the government of neighboring Osun state in full compliance with the agreement of sole ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Lautech), Ogbomosho.
Oyo Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, in a statement said although, the total takeover amount stood at ₦8 billion, the Oyo state government has been paying ₦1 billion per year and is expected to make the full payment before the end of the Seyi Makinde administration in 2027.
The Commissioner recalled that both states struck a deal on November 20, 2020 to cede LAUTECH to Oyo state.
Prince Oyelade said the joint ownership of LAUTECH was acrimonious between the governments of the two states from 2007 to 2019 when Governor Seyi Makinde took over but surprisingly reached an agreement with his Osun counterpart to make Oyo the sole owner of the Institution.
He added that, ever since, the institution has grown in leaps and bounds, reclaiming its position as the best state University in Nigeria.
He said, “The academic excellence in the wake of this development notwithstanding, LAUTECH has also expanded physically and in scope with the establishment of the LAUTECH Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Iseyin campus.”
The Commissioner revealed that last week Thursday, just as Governor Makinde approved the release of ₦1 billion to the Osun state government, he also released ₦650 million as a take-off grant for the Teaching and Research Farm at the Iseyin Campus.
He noted that the government has also commenced simultaneously, the construction of health centres and road networks at LAUTECH Iseyin campus, the Abiola Ajimobi Technical University, Ibadan and the Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo.
