The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) plans to shutdown academic activities in universities in protest over the October deadline for employees of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to enroll in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS).
The government, through a Presidential directive had ordered all MDAs to enroll on IPPIS, with a threat that agencies that fail to meet the October deadline would be denied their emoluments.
ASUU Coordinator, Ibadan Zone, Dr. Ade Adejumo, the union’s Chairman, and Investments Secretary, Prof. Deji Omole and Prof. Ayo Akinwole, respectively, at a press conference, yesterday, faulted the idea behind the IPPIS saying it failed to capture the peculiarities of Nigerian universities. They also said weaknesses in the IPPS would culminate into serious problems for members of ASUU when they attain 60 years of age.
The Ibadan Zone of ASUU comprises, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, Kwara State University, University of Osun and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH).
“IPPIS is too rigid a platform that discountenances the peculiarities of the university system in the sacred areas of replacement or recruitment of academics, mobility of academic staff for visiting, adjunct, part-time and sabbatical offers.
“Not only these, academics are chopped off the platform at the age of 60, thereby creating bottlenecks in the collection of salaries and emoluments because once the name of a staff is removed, such a victim will continue to frequent Abuja until it is rectified.
“The victim, not only abandons his duty post, but faces the hazards on the Nigerian roads among others. The platform also does not capture the Earned Academic Allowances and remunerations due to academics who retire before the age of 65 and promotion arrears,” said Adejumo.
Adejumo stated that the IPPIS clearly violates the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2003, which provides in section 2AA unequivocally, that: “the power of the council shall be exercised, as in the Laws and Statutes of each university and to that extent, establishment circulars that are inconsistent with the Laws and Statutes of the university shall not apply to the universities.”
The IPPIS, he said further, contravened the ASUU-FGN Agreements of 1992, 2001 and 2009, adding that paragraphs 5 to 10, 1992 ASUU-FGN Agreement stated that the universities should be allowed to operate in compliance with their enabling laws, statutes, rules and regulations in conformity with due process and within the laws of the land.
Adejumo said ASUU has been able to expose the mischief or ignorance of Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) “in its reckless statement that by opposing IPPIS our union endorses corruption. Ordinarily, we need not have bothered about the vituperations of the OAGF because the stance of our union against corruption is in the public domain. However, the OAGF needs to answer this pertinent question: If, indeed, millions of naira have been recovered through the IPPIS, from where have those monies been recovered and who are the culprits that have been sanctioned for such infractions?”
