The Lagos State government has reacted to the protest of academic and non-academic staff of Lagos State University (LASU).
The government stated that it expects the institution to be responsible in the application of its subventions.
In a statement signed by Tokunbo Wahab, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Education, the government said the sum of N450 million is paid monthly to the institution as subvention.
Except from The statement reads;“We wish to state categorically that Lagos State University, like other subvented MDAs, collects the sum of N450,000,000.00 every month from the Lagos State Government as Subvention.
“The Government expects the institutions to also be responsible in the application of the funds and the staffing of the institutions. We must also have at the back of our mind that they have IGR which they generate and not accountable to the government on how the same is expended”.
The government also stated that aside the monthly subvention, it is also responsible for the infrastructural developments of the institutions and other ancillary things.
This, the government said, include the payment for accreditation exercise for which the last one cost the government close to N500million and the approval of 8,000 plus bed hostel in the institution.
The statement concluded:“We expect the management of these institutions to pay up their staff salaries to avoid situations that look more like deliberate sabotaging of the efforts of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration as we prepare for schools resumption this week”.
Earlier on Monday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) blocked the main entrance of the Lagos State University (LASU) protesting over the payment of the minimum wage.
Their protest hampered the free flow of vehicular traffic as their protesting members gathered as early as 7:00 am and prevented both students and lecturers from gaining entrance to the institution.
They also locked out of the school the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Olanrewaju Fagboun.
They rebuffed all attempts by the Vice-Chancellor to dialogue with them as they insisted that no one will be allowed into the university premises until their demands are met by the state government.
They are protesting that the increment in their salaries which was promised by the Lagos State government more than a year ago; was yet to be fulfilled.
The Lagos State Government has earlier announced that tertiary institutions in the state will reopen on Monday, September 14, 2020, after been closed for about six months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
