Our union is not opposed to forensic audit of LAUTECH – ASUU.

AVERRING to the periodic auditing of universities as a recognised, standard and statutory procedure, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, on Tuesday, however stated that the need to audit should not replace the need to pay the staff who are already unnerved by the non-payment of salaries for eight months.

According to a statement jointly signed by its chairman and secretary, Dr Biodun Olaniran and Dr Toyin Abegunrin, the Union argued that failure to carry out regular audit could not be blamed on staff.

The statement reads : “While our union is not opposed to the exercise, it should not be used as an excuse to justify holding on to salaries of our members for eight months. Let the government fulfill its obligation as even recommended by its own visitation panel, then whatever auditing exercise they want to carry out can continue.

“Our union is a law-abiding one, and will not stand on the way of accountability and transparency but will not allow our members to be subjected to humiliation of economic deprivation and starvation for an “offence” they never committed. To us, the ploy by government to paint ASUU as standing in the way of auditing exercise is a cheap blackmail which cannot stand in the face of the logic of the present realities”, its continued.

Accusing the owner states of LAUTECH , Oyo and Osun of abandoning their duties to the institution since 2013, the union, added that public universities run successfully when all stakeholders, particularly owners fulfill their obligations.