Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has asserted that he has no objection to the existence of the Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology, MAUSTECH.
He explained that the bill he sent to the House of Assembly was to seek for the return of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic assets to enable the school come back to life.
The governor who made the clarification when members of Abeokuta Club visited him in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said it was unfortunate that MAUSTECH, MAPOLY and the Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia, could not commence academic activities as a result of unresolved issues.
“Government’s intention is transparent on the issue of MAPOLY. We felt it was expedient and important for us to immediately do something so that out of the three institutions, at least, one will begin to function.
“MAPOLY itself was never repealed either by accident or by design, but more importantly, all the assets of the school had been invested on MAUSTECH, which was not functioning,” he said.
The governor said the bill sent to the House was to ask for the return of MAPOLY assets and not to repeal the university.
Abiodun said repealing MAUSTECH law would have amounted to pre-empting the Committee set up to look into the establishment of the institution, adding that it was never the thinking of government to do.
“It did not say anything about repealing MAUTECH, there was no such conception, so when I began to get reactions that l have cancelled MAUTECH, I began to wonder where it was coming from. I need to emphasize that I do not have any objection to MAUSTECH.
“When the Committee finishes with its assignment, we know how to take it from there,” he said.
He said it was imperative to reopen the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic as all stakeholders including business owners whose sources of income had been cut off for two years, were going through a lot of hardship.
Governor Abiodun who took time to intimate the club members to his government’s policies and programmes, said he would focus on revamping the health, education, agricultural and infrastructural sectors, while attention would also be given to security, employment and digitalisation of the state.
The governor said his administration always planned ahead and took every section of the state into consideration before taking action.
He appealed to members of the club not to hesitate in getting in touch with him whenever issues that needed clarification arose.
Also speaking, the Chairman of MAUTECH, MAPOLY and OGUNPOLY Committee, Professor Segun Awonusi, who reeled out terms of reference of the committee, said members had started interacting with relevant stakeholders with a view to meeting the submission date of its recommendations.
Speaking earlier, the past President and Trustee of the Club, Prof. Afolabi Soyode, expressed regret that MAPOLY had been in comatose in the last years, saying it had affected not only the students, parents, staff and other stakeholders, but the local economic state.
He said the club was happy for the setting up of the committee, but was shocked when a bill was sent to the house to amend the law establishing the institution.
He said the club had ascertained that the purported repealing of the university was a rumour.
It expressed the hope that government would do the needful to get the university back on track.
