The National Alumni President of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Olumide Olugbemi-Gabriel, has raised concerns over what he described as the “dying state” of the institution, citing poor funding, unpaid salaries, infrastructural decay, and neglect by the Ondo State Government.
In a strongly-worded open letter addressed to Allen Sowore, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Strategic Communication, Olugbemi-Gabriel appealed for urgent intervention to rescue the university from what he termed “gradual collapse.”
He lamented that AAUA lecturers have been on strike for two months over unpaid salaries, while the monthly subvention of N223 million falls far short of the institution’s wage bill of N553 million. According to him, the situation has forced the university to rely on over N500 million cooperative deductions to augment salary payments, leaving staff financially distressed.
The Alumni President described as “an aberration” the fact that Rufus Giwa Polytechnic receives higher subvention than AAUA, despite Ondo State being richer than neighbouring Ekiti State, where state universities enjoy higher monthly allocations.
Olugbemi-Gabriel further decried the lack of capital grants to the university in the last five years, the dilapidated state of the road to the permanent site, and the neglect of key infrastructure, including the Senate Building, which has suffered extensive damage from rainwater leakage.
“Every time I return to the university these days, I agonize over its pitiable condition. AAUA is dying due to extremely poor funding and infrastructure. Help us. Talk to the governor, please,” he urged Sowore, stressing that his appeal was a “clarion call, not a call out.”
The alumni leader also reminded the governor’s aide of their shared history as student activists at AAUA, urging him to use his influence with Governor Aiyedatiwa to ensure the institution receives the attention it deserves.
AAUA, established in 1999, is Ondo State’s flagship university and has long been regarded as one of Nigeria’s leading state-owned institutions. However, the ongoing strike and persistent underfunding have heightened fears among stakeholders that its academic standing and infrastructure are in serious jeopardy.
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