LAUTECH Students Take Legal Action Against Governor Makinde Over Faculty Relocation

A group of students from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) have taken the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and other officials to court over the controversial relocation of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. This move has sparked outrage among the academic community, with second-year students being directed to transfer to the newly established Faculty of Agricultural Science and Renewable Natural Resources on the Iseyin Campus, located in the Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The lawsuit, marked HOG/34/2023, has been filed at an Oyo State High Court in Ogbomoso, with Akintayo Abdulqoyuum Ajibola, Onwi Edet, Ezekiel Ogunmola, and Aderemi Olude as the plaintiffs. In a show of solidarity, they are not only representing themselves but also acting on behalf of other students and parents of the 200 Level students affected by the relocation.

While a specific court hearing date has not yet been scheduled, the court documents dated Monday, October 30, and obtained by The PUNCH, reveal that the state Commissioner for Education, the acting Vice-Chancellor of LAUTECH, and the Provost of the Iseyin campus are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The primary objective of the lawsuit is to obtain a court order that would prevent the governor and his representatives from proceeding with the planned relocation of the faculty, which has been met with widespread resistance and concern within the LAUTECH community.