Elevate LAUTECH To Global Standard – Makinde Charges Newly Inaugurated Governing Council

Seyi Makinde, Executive Governor of Oyo State, inaugurated the Governing Council of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso the Council deliver leadership that will boost the academic excellence of the Institution globally.

He further charged the Council members to within a short while, ensure that the institution is ranked among the top ten universities in the world.
He also advised the members to direct and ensure accountability on the institution’s direct administrators.

Governor Makinde made this statement while inaugurating the Council members at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, on Thursday.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa ascertained that the governor also urged Council members to see their positions as a call to duty and service, saying that “this is not a job one gets and goes to sleep.”

The statement cited the governor as saying that the committee’s mandate was to take necessary and strategic measures that will globalise the academic excellence of LAUTECH, enlisting it among the top ten and the first in Africa.

Speaking on the specific mandate being given to the new Council, the governor said: “We want you to take the necessary measures and pursue vigorously all strategies and tactics that will make LAUTECH a world-class university. That is the mandate.


“What you are getting is an opportunity to shape this school for future generations. We no longer have the excuse to say one state or the other is holding back the school’s progress. So, I encourage you to get the job done, and I am sure you will get it done.”

The governor elucidated that though the Governing Council is almost unseen, its impact is always felt in academic progress, adding that the Council members’ appointment is a call to service and a duty that must be executed responsibly.

The governor added: “The Governing Council’s role is almost invisible; still, its impact is undoubtedly felt in the direction that the school is headed. Its position is very strategic, and one of the core duties of members is overseeing and ensuring accountability on the part of the school’s direct administrators.

“It is not a position that one takes up and goes to sleep. It is a special call to duty and service. If we are looking at people’s calibre on this board, I am convinced that you are up to the task.

“It was not a mistake that two of the members today – Professor Ayodeji Omole and Mr Adeosun Idowu – were both the chairman and secretary of the Oyo State Negotiation Team on the Sole Ownership of LAUTECH, which assisted the Oyo State Government to get LAUTECH back.

“I gave the initial committee a mandate to go out there and get a divorce. When I gave the assignment, I knew it would be tough, especially where there is no halfway point for them, but they came back and delivered 100 per cent on that mandate. So, I am giving you another mandate today, and I am sure you will still deliver 100 per cent.”

“Be assured of the continuous support of the government in this regard. Let it be that the following news we will hear in the future is that, because of the work you did, LAUTECH has broken into the list of top ten universities in the world.

“I challenge you to key into this vision. We are not talking about the top 10 universities in Nigeria but in the world. You should already know that we want you to take us from the 13th position to the 1st position. I know it is a big task, but that is why your mandate is to mould and make LAUTECH into a world-class institution. “So, the benchmark is not even Nigeria but looking at the universities around the world.

“I want to assure you that the Oyo State Government is ready to work with you to make that happen.

“Well, in the case of LAUTECH, as we inaugurate this Governing Council, we can rightly say that the first phase of acquiring this school and setting things up for success has ended in praise. The next phase of rebuilding, which this Governing Council is supposed to do, is a surgical operation. And I know that the next phase will also end in praise.”

The chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Omole, spoke with media officers shortly after the inauguration; he said the governor has promised to give the institution all the necessary support to transform and rebuild the university.

Adding that the committee knew the challenges ahead of it, especially that of a crop of staff that are not motivated, saying that the Council will diligently carry out their official duties.

He also explained that the institution has many potentials but that, unfortunately, somewhere along the line, there was a crisis, and the university could no longer focus on its core mandate.

“I am sure that you have heard that the governor has promised to give the institution all the necessary support to transform and rebuild the university. We know there are a lot of challenges, especially some groups of staff that are not motivated. You cannot owe somebody 8-10 months salary and expect such a person to put in the best.

“So, we know we are going to have a lot of challenges, but we will overcome them, and the university will be put on a proper footing to face the challenges of development desired of a university that is worthy of its name.

“On the first position that the governor wants us to move the university to, there is nothing impossible. The staff in LAUTECH don’t have inferior brains to those people in the first ten universities in the world. Our team has competed favourably with those scholars, and we know that, with adequate motivation, incentive and a good working environment, all those things can be achieved.

Members of the Governing Council inaugurated by the governor include Professor Omole, pro-chancellor and chairman; Mr Adeosun Olukunle Idowu, Secretary of the Council; Hon. Adekunle Bankole; Professor Lanre Olaniyan and Mrs Titilayomi Ahmadu.