In full compliance with the agreement granting Oyo State sole ownership of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, the Oyo State Government has paid a total sum of ₦5 billion to the Osun State Government.
This payment fulfills the terms of the asset-sharing arrangement following the dissolution of joint ownership between the two states.
The commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said on Monday that the total takeover amount is ₦8 billion. With this payment, the Oyo State government has been paying ₦1 billion per year, and the full payment should be settled before the end of the Seyi Makinde administration in 2027.
He said both states struck a deal on November 20, 2020, to cede LAUTECH to Oyo State.
Oyelade said that the joint ownership of LAUTECH was acrimonious between the Governments of the two States from 2007 to 2019, when Makinde took over and, surprisingly, reached an agreement with his Osun counterpart to make Oyo the sole owner of the Institution.
“Ever since, the Institution has grown in leaps and bounds, reclaiming its position as the Best State University in Nigeria.
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“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 Thursday, Makinde approved the release of ₦1 billion to the Osun State government, adding that the governor also released ₦650 million as a take-off grant for the Teaching and Research Farm at the Iseyin Campus.
“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”, he said.