LAUTECH students sue Oyo govt over campus relocation

OYO State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Salihu Adelabu, yesterday, disclosed that some students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology ( LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, have dragged Governor Seyi Makinde and four government functionaries to court, over the relocation of their faculty.

Recall that second- year students of the institution, who were directed to move to Iseyin for the second semester of the academic session, dragged the governor, education commissioner, acting Vice- Chancellor of LAUTECH and the Provost of Iseyin campus and other defendants for relocating the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences to the newly established Faculty of Agricultural Science and Renewable Natural Resources, Iseyin Campus in the Iseyin Local Government Area of the state.

The students in the suit marked HOG/ 34/ 2023 filed at an Oyo State High Court in Ogbomoso has Akintayo Ajibola, Onwi Edet, Ezekiel Ogunmola and Aderemi Olude as plaintiffs. They filed the suit for themselves, and on behalf of other students and parents of the 200- Level students of the faculty.

According to Adelabu, "We have received the writ of summons on the case filed by some students of the institution against the government but yet to be inundated with the date for the hearing. The people sponsoring the case are non stakeholders. The universities across the country have standards.

"Their request is not in conformity with the set standard. However, I will not want to comment on the matter since the case is already in the court. LAUTECH is not the only university in Nigeria that is running a multi- campus system. We are going to meet in court but our concern is for the litigants not to ruin the lives of the affected students."

The claimants are seeking an order from the court to restrain the governor and his agents from going ahead with the planned relocation.