IPPIS: ASUU Threatens Prolonged Strike, If…

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), yesterday, threatened prolonged strike over the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) dispute with the Federal Government.
Lecturers at a zonal conference in Ibadan described the Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation as ‘high priests of corruption’ over the alleged lopsided implementation of IPPIS.
They also lashed out at the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education, Sonny Echonu, as the latest Federal Government appointed liar on IPPIS, challenging him to tell Nigerians the percentage of lecturers in what ASUU described as fake statistics of enrollees on the IPPIS.
The union threatened that its ongoing two-week warning strike could snowball into a prolonged one should the government fail to address its concerns on unimplemented agreements.
Addressing a joint conference in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the Ibadan zonal chapter of ASUU comprising the University of Ibadan, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, University of Ilorin, Kwara State University and Osun State University, the Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Ade Adejumo, maintained that the union has been vindicated with underpayment, overpayment, none deduction of the third party deductions, outright omissions, among many other anomalies which characterised the February salary paid to those who enrolled on the IPPIS platform.
Adejumo, who was flanked by Prof. Ayo Akinwole (UI), Prof. Moyosore Ajao (UNILORIN), Dr Biodun Olaniran (LAUTECH), Dr Femi Abanikannda (UNISON) and Dr Dauda Adesola (KWASU), expressed worries that despite the regrets being expressed by those who enlisted on IPPIS and other shortcomings and sharp practices, the Accountant General of the Federation and the Finance Minister are insisting on going ahead with the platform.
His words: “Presently, the outcry emanating from university workers over the payment of February salary has vindicated ASUU’s position on the evil platform of IPPIS as an unworkable platform.
‘’To say the least, IPPIS is a haven for corruption rather than assisting in curbing it.”
Earlier, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had pleaded with the Federal Government to give it 18 months to develop its payment applications, the University Transparency and Accountability System (UTAS) as a preferred mode of payment.
ASUU had rejected the government-introduced Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and even embarked on a two weeks warning strike over the refusal of government to pay those that did not enroll in the payment platform.
It was reliably gathered that at the conciliatory meeting between the Federal Government and ASUU at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the union was asked to present its own template having rejected the IPPIS.
A source privy to the meeting said that the union at that juncture pleaded with the government to give them 18-month grace to go and develop the UTAS.
According to the source, “ASUU pleaded that it should be given 18 months to develop the UTAS. The union explained that developing the payment application software would take six months, the alpha testing of the equipment will take three months, what it calls Beta will take six months and rounding off the system to take three months.