LAUTECH students give lecturers 72-hour ultimatum to opt out of ASUU strike

The Student Union of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, has given lecturers in the university 72 hours ultimatum to withdraw from the ongoing strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

ASUU had, on February 14, embarked on a four-week warning strike over the failure of the Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreements it reached with the union and the rot in universities. The union also extended the strike action by another eight weeks on March 14.

But the Student Union of LAUTECH in a statement, on Friday, by the President, Anuoluwa Adeboye, and Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Michael, said students of the  university had suffered too much from previous incessant strike actions.

They added that the ongoing strike had also made the fresh graduates of the school to miss being mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps orientation programme in March.

The students said they had requested a dialogue with the ASUU, LAUTECH branch on why the union chose to join the national strike but stated that the union had refused to address them.

The statement read, “In light of this, if by now the leadership of ASUU LAUTECH can’t honour the open dialogue address from the Student Union between ASUU LAUTECH and LAUTECH students and they are claiming they are fighting for the Ladokites’ interest at the federal level, we are saying it is enough.

“We are giving the leadership of ASUU LAUTECH 72 hours to borrow a leaf from ASUU KWASU that wrote a special letter to the national ASUU based on the peculiarity of their institution and to opt out of this ongoing strike or else the Student Union will be left with no choice other than to see ASUU LAUTECH as a sabotage to the progress of LAUTECH and Ladokites due to their selfish interest.

“Confrontation will not cease after 72 hours might have lapsed and the interest of Ladokites is not protected.”