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Why We Reject IPPIS, GIFMIS- ASUU
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has explained why it rejected two payment platforms of the federal government and insisted on University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), it created as alternative.
ASUU had rejected the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), a platform the Federal Government uses to pay no fewer than 789,000 of its workers in various sectors of the economy. ASUU members are also currently on the platform.
The union had also rejected Government Integrated Financial Management and Information System (GIFMIS), the platform the federal government recently approved that ASUU payment should transit to, with effect from November.
In an exclusive interview with newsmen in Abuja, the ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said that the union’s stance is in line with the autonomy of the nation’s tertiary institutions.
According to him UTAS conforms with the statutory provision that the university’s finances should be managed by its Governing Council.
“ASUU’s position is that the finances of the university should be managed by the Governing Council. That’s what the law says. It does not says by the Accountant General’s office.
“Every year, the governing council directs the Vice Chancellor to defend its budget at the National Assembly.When the budget is approved including salary, remuneration, overhead, it will go to the President for assent and it becomes a law.
“That money should be released to the Governing council to pay its staff members. That is the autonomy of the university we are talking about, as stipulated in the law,” he said
Osodeke stressed that the universities should be given autonomy, to be able to plan for its staff members’ recruitment and how to pay their salaries.
He recalled that the Union rejected IPPIS because its implementation does not only erodes university’s autonomy but meddles with its internal affairs and violates Section 24A of the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2003.
Osodeke also faulted the recent guidelines by the federal government detailing the process for the formal exit of Federal Tertiary Institutions (FTIs) from IPPIS.
In a circular issued on Oct. 8, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, said the payroll for FTIs in the month of October 2024 will still be processed on the IPPIS platform.
She added that, starting from November, the payrolls will be processed by the institutions themselves and then be checked by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation’s (OAGF)’s IPPIS department.
According to her, the payment will be made through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform.
Osodeke, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the directives, stating that the AGF was playing games with the union.
“GIFMIS is still an appendage of IPPIS. When you look at the circular, paragraph two says after universities have finished preparation, it will still come to OAGF IPPIS, for verification before it is paid by GIFMIS, which means nothing has changed.
“As at now, no university knows who is being paid what. IPPIS has been paying people who have been sacked, people who are non staff members and people who have left the university system.
“The Vice Chancellors cannot discipline any erring official.Even when you are being disciplined, the IPPIS or GIFMIS will still be paying your salary and that is what we are saying,” he said
Osodeke said the insinuation in certain quarters that ASUU was insisting on UTAS, its own developed solution, to shield lecturers teaching in more than one institution, was misconceived
According to him, the establishment Act of University permits lecturers to teach in two institutions, but with laid down guidelines
“As stipulates by the law, a lecturers can serve as adjunct in another university, they can also work as part time in another university.
“They can serve as visiting professor in another university and this is the practice all over the world.
“For example, if you have a Professor who is highly knowledgeable in a particular field working in one university and another university has no one to handle such programme, what will they do?.
‘“That university will approach the other and appeal to the lecturer to come and teach their students on part time basis, which might be once or two times in a month.
“The institution is not expected to pay full salary to the lecturer, but allowances for the part time job.That is what it is. It is in the law and it is all over.
Osodeke also explained that lecturers do go on sabbatical; meaning, a lecturer, who has taught for six years, could apply for one year leave to go to other university or institution to teach.
According to him, it is not a new development, but the only caveat is that the maximum number of university a lecturer can practice such is two.Teaching beyond two institutions is tantamount to breaking the law.
“It is a global standard and that is why we have visiting professors from London, Ghana, among others coming here to impact their knowledge.
“When you look at UTAS that we developed, any lecturer who has gone to sabbatical for more than the approved number, will be rejected automatically.
“Also, any lecturer who has not met the six years requirement for teaching and want to go on sabbatical leave would be rejected. All these have been built into the UTAS,” he said.
The ASUU President noted, that the lack of exchange of knowledge by lecturers from one institution to another was partly responsible for the low ranking of Nigerian universities in the global ranking assessment.
Osodeke also described as misleading, the claim by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) that UTAS had failed three integrity tests.
The ASUU President said UTAS is a credible and trusted payment platform that captures the inherent peculiarities in the country’s university system.
According to Osodeke, NITDA, in an earlier integrity test conducted on UTAS, had written a report scoring the platform, 97.3 per cent, but later recounted.
He insisted that in the tests conducted by the agency, IPPIS came a distant last to UTAS and wondered why the government insisted on using the IPPIS.
Osodeke said that ASUU’s planned strike notice over the payment platform and other issues was still standing but the union had only given the government space to conclude on the new renegotiation committee that was set up.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.