Oyo State Governor-elect, Mr

Seyi Makinde, has accused Governor Abiola Ajimobi of mischief as the government announced it had restored full monthly subventions to all the state-owned tertiary institutions.

Mr Ajimobi had in 2016 slashed the subventions to run the institutions by about 75 per cent, citing dwindling revenues.

For example, The Polytechnic, Ibadan which used to get about N235 million monthly from the state government started receiving about N45 million.

Oyo government-owned tertiary institutions are: The Polytechnic, Ibadan; Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo; Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igbo Ora; Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki; Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa; and Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, which is jointly owned by the state and Osun, was also affected.

Ajimobi, then advised the authorities of the institutions to be more creative in sourcing revenues to meet the shortfall in their funding.

The decision drew protests by students of the institutions and led to the schools being shut down by the state government.

The state government, however, on Sunday said it had restored the 100 per cent subventions to the tertiary institutions.

The announcement came 10 days to the end of the second and final term of Ajimobi.

The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Adeniyi Olowofela, told journalists on Sunday that the restoration of 100 per cent subvention to the institutions was aimed at assisting them to address their financial constraints.

Olowofela said the restoration of full subventions will take effect from April.

He added that the fall in federal allocation and grants to the state forced the state government to cut expenditures, which also affected the tertiary institutions in the state.

In his reaction, Makinde, said the outgoing administration would be leaving behind an unprecedented record of governance by mischief in its last days in office.

In a statement by his media aide, Mr Dotun Oyelade, Mr Makinde alleged that the same government was encouraging primary school teachers to embark on an indefinite strike.

Makinde said, “For a government that gave paucity of funds as reason it could not pay backlogs to go ahead and restore 100% subvention to all tertiary Institutions one week to leaving office is fulfilling Ajimobi’s agenda to spend everything, and create a mountain of debt before leaving office.

“The same government collected Common Entrance fees from pupils since March and has refused to fix examination date and they are leaving office next Wednesday.”

He said the spate of appointments and promotions the government was carrying out surreptitiously are also part of their agenda.

Makinde said many things were going on within the government that do not edify the status of Oyo as the “Pacesetter State, all in their bid to have the last laugh.”

“But you cannot be anti-people and have the last laugh,” he said.

PT