The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has lauded the federal government’s decision to exempt universities and other tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment network on Wednesday.
In October 2006, the Federal Government introduced the IPPIS as one of its reform initiatives for the effective storage of personnel records, saying the move would improve transparency and accountability.
IPPIS, which was expanded to cover all ministries, departments and agencies that draw personnel costs from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, had been touted by the government to save billions of naira and improve transparency in salary payments.
However, ASUU, the umbrella body for lecturers in Nigerian universities, resisted the implementation of IPPIS within universities, arguing that it undermined university autonomy and does not accommodate the unique nature of academic work.
ASUU had instead proposed an alternative system called the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, which they believe better addresses the peculiarities of the university system, such as sabbatical leave, adjunct engagements and part-time contracts.
This led to tensions and a protracted standoff, with ASUU continuing to push for the adoption of UTAS over IPPIS, which they saw as a foreign-imposed system unsuitable for the Nigerian tertiary education sector.
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with The PUNCH, said, “We commend the government but it is more than three years. We want them to resolve other issues like the seven-and-a-half-month arrears in which we were punished for going on strike, the Earned Academic Allowance, and others.”
While speaking on the impact of the removal from IPPIS, he said, “The approval will change every wrong thing in the system, vice-chancellors, and our colleagues don’t have to run to Abuja for anything, and the issue of multiple employment, and wrong deductions, will no longer occur. Our colleagues don’t have to run to Abuja over infractions in their salaries.
“All that universities need to do now is to go to the National Assembly and defend its budget and any VC that exceeds the figure should be punished. They should set the rules. There is no need to run to Abuja or the Ministry of Education for anything.
“They should resolve all these issues so we can all be on a clean slate and if there is a smooth relationship between the union and government, the better.”
