Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has
challenged the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) to intervene in the
ownership crisis between Osun and Oyo States over the Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso.
Receiving members of the YCE, led by its national
chairman, Adeyinka Adebayo, a retired major general, on a courtesy
visit in his office in Osogbo yesterday, Mr. Aregbesola expressed
concern over the huge toll the crisis is exerting on the university
since last year when it started.
The governor said that the Yoruba people have a
traditional norm which guides the issue of joint ownership and mutual
respect that ought to have guided the Oyo State government in avoiding
the crisis.
He commended YCE under the leadership of Mr.
Adeyinka Adebayo for the maintenance of peace and unity among various
Yoruba communities and urged them to continue to play their roles in
the restoration of the lost economic glory of Yoruba people.
The governor, who observed that Osun State is not
as economically buoyant as other South West states, stressed that its
strategic importance and significance to the development of the region
and Nigeria could not be underrated.
Identifying past neglect of issues concerning the
ordinary citizens as being responsible for the deplorable position of
Osun State, he appealed to the elders’ council to be in the vanguard of
social re-orientation which his administration was embarking upon.
He lauded the unrelenting efforts of YCE on the
development and sustenance of Yoruba culture and tradition, as well as
maintaining peace and harmony in the land, just as he highlighted the
Osun State re-branding project and what it entails.
Mr. Aregbesola also called on Mr. Adebayo to rally
the people in the reinvention and revitalisation of agricultural
practices as means of empowering the people against the scourge of
poverty, adding that YCE should rally other states in the region to
become involved with the drive.
In his response, Mr. Adebayo expressed gladness
over the emergence of Governor Aregbesola as the state chief executive
and asked him to deliver on his promises to the electorate who voted
for him.
The YCE leader urged Mr. Aregbesola to ensure that his administration provides basic facilities that would transform Osun State.
