COEASU backs ASUU on UTAS, asks FG to drop ego

The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has urged the federal government to drop its ego and accept the payment platform developed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) – University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

The union said the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) being used by the federal government breached the establishment integrity of the tertiary institution’s system, undermined the statutory functions of the governing councils and opened the payroll up to unilateral manipulations.

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The COEASU President, Dr Smart Olugbeko, at a press conference in Abuja, wondered why government officials were playing with the lives of Nigerian youths.

He said, ‘’The intractable challenge created by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) has been a great source of worry and constituted one of the major issues prone to the industrial crisis in the College of Education (COE) system.

‘‘Within a short time after its unilateral imposition (of IPPIS) on tertiary institutions by the FG in February 2020, academic unions’ opposition to it was vindicated as the IPPIS pay platform engendered several irregularities, such as salary omission, accommodation of ghost workers, mutilated salary and inconsistency in payment of salary of staff on sabbatical and study leave.

‘‘The payment system also enables the FG to impose baseless deductions under the guise of a new tax regime shrouded in calculative mysteries at the detriment of our members.

‘‘All over the world, research is the fulcrum of the academic community where academics proffer solutions to problems and evolve templates for development.”