Daud Olatunji
The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel has raised concerns over the Federal Government’s takeover of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), questioning the Ogun State Government’s ability to sustain the institution despite its trillion-naira budget.
Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State and the founder of TASUED, made this known in an open letter addressed to Governor Dapo Abiodun on March 18, 2025. While commending President Bola Tinubu for taking over the institution, he warned that the development could be perceived as an indictment of the state government’s handling of education.
He emphasized that the state should have been able to maintain the university, especially given its historical significance as Nigeria’s first University of Education and Africa’s second.
“It appears this unilateral takeover is an indictment on our State and the inability of the government to maintain the institution, especially when the budget of the State has now hit the one trillion naira mark,” Daniel wrote.
He further lamented that the takeover could limit Ogun State’s admission quotas and employment opportunities, as the Federal Government would now appoint the university’s leadership, potentially reducing placements for Ogun indigenes.
According to him, TASUED was originally established to expand admission slots for students in Ogun State and create employment opportunities within the state’s education sector.
He warned that the state’s failure to properly fund its higher institutions could lead to similar takeovers by the Federal Government.
“It is our fervent hope that your administration might pick up from the President’s magnanimous takeover to start looking in the direction of the remaining institutions of higher learning,” he said, listing institutions like the Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic and the Gateway Industrial and Petro-Gas Institute, which he aq have suffered neglect.
Daniel urged Governor Abiodun to either revitalize these institutions or facilitate their takeover by the Federal Government to prevent their collapse.
“As a Governor from the Ogun East Senatorial District, lest it be said that under your stewardship, such specialized institutions like the GIPI and Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic went into extinction, you owe our people in Ogun East this minimum of attention,” he added.
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