IPPIS: Some VCs collected N58,000 as February salary – ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says some of its members who defaulted and keyed into the implementation of the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) are now “regretting.”

The Union hinted that some Vice Chancellors earned N58,000, while some Professors collected paltry N55,000 as February salary from the IPPIS.

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The Coordinator of ASUU Lagos Zone, Prof Olusiji Sowande, disclosed this while addressing newsmen at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode in Ogun state.

Sowande, who was flanked by ASUU branch chairmen in the zone and officials, also alleged that the IPPIS has now been fraught with corruption, describing a $140million loan obtained by the Federal Government for the implementation of the IPPIS, as massive fraud.

He said the government took the $140million loan to procure software and train staff for implementing IPPIS in spite of the ASUU offer to provide a platform through University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

According to him, the government’s indifference to the corruption in IPPIS is to centralise corruption with IPPIS and office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) as the Headquarters.

The Coordinator added that the ASUU’s agitation and resistance of IPPIS has been vindicated following the position of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), withdrawing their support for the IPPIS implementation.

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“Well, it is not true that majority of our members have registered or keyed into the IPPIS. What is true is that some of our members have actually keyed in and with the payment of this February salary, we can tell you the report. Imagine, a Professor getting N55,000 as salary from IPPIS? So that tells you that there are problems with IPPIS.

“Imagine a Vice Chancellor as we have heard, collecting N58,000 as his salary. So, there are a lot of problems in IPPIS. Yes, they keyed in and they have seen the repercussion. Even those who did not agree with us have now agreed that our suspicion and agitation is on the right path, quoting from what SSANU and COEASU have said.

“For those who have not been paid, we will not be intimidated. We will continue with the struggle, but we know that the government will pay us because we have worked for it”, he said.

The Coordinator who also alleged that the Federal Government has ulterior motive for implementing IPPIS, insisting that “we will resist this with last drop of our sweat and blood.”

On the ongoing warning strike, he said “Our union will not surrender to blackmail and intimidation from government and will not hesitate to embark on total, comprehensive and indefinite industrial action to wrestle the public universities from the clutches of prowling jackals in government.”