A former governor of Ogun State and senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel and Governor Dapo Abiodun clashed on Thursday over allegations of neglect and underfunding of tertiary institutions in the state.
In an open letter to Abiodun, which went viral on Thursday, Daniel criticised the recent takeover of the state-owned Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, by the Federal Government.
While acknowledging the takeover as a positive development, he blamed it on Abiodun’s failure to prioritise funding for tertiary education.
Daniel explained that his administration established TASUED in February 2005 to provide more admission opportunities for Ogun State students, as the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, could only accommodate 3,500 students.
Commending President Bola Tinubu for approving the takeover, Daniel said, “This development came at the nick of time to ensure that the 20-year-old university was not consigned to the dustbin of history due to poor funding.”
However, he also expressed concerns, calling the takeover a “bitter-sweet” experience and an “indictment on the present leadership in the state.”
“One, it appears this unilateral takeover is an indictment on our state and the inability of the government to maintain the Institution which has attained a global rating, especially when the budget of the state has now hit the one trillion naira mark.
“Our people will ask, what is the percentage of our budget that is being allocated to the development of education from such humongous budget appropriation?” he stated.
Daniel emphasised that TASUED was created not just to increase admission quotas but also to provide employment for Ogun State citizens.
“I wish our people would not come to such a hurried conclusion about government ineptitude as the reasons for this necessary acquisition when the state government has abdicated its own responsibilities to this institution,” he said.
He recalled that before his administration in 2003, the state had only two major tertiary institutions—OOU and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.
“Ogun State has a huge population of admission seekers, and the National Universities Commission (NUC) has a cap on the number of students who can be admitted in every cycle.
“The Olabisi Onabanjo University had about 3,500 carrying capacity. But with the establishment of TASUED, we were able to double the quotas of admission-seeking students of Ogun State origin.
“With this acquisition, Mr. Governor, those quota advantages might have gone, as the Federal Government is now empowered to appoint the leadership of the Institution, which may also come from anywhere in the country in line with the nature of our federal character system.
“Our students’ admission quota, no doubt, would have been abridged; they might benefit from the Catchment Areas system at best,” stated
