IPPIS: You’ll be held responsible for looming industrial crisis, ASUU tells FG

Following the recent directive by Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to stop the January salary of university lectures who failed to enroll into the Integrated Personal Payroll Institution System (IPPIS), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday said the Federal Government should be ready to take full responsibility for the looming industrial crisis.

ASUU President, Prof. Abiodun Ogunyemi, who spoke with Daily Trust on telephone noted that the circular released by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was provocative.

“The federal government should know that they will be held responsible for the crisis, because it is provocative. This circular is highly provocative, we condemn it; we reject it,” Prof. Ogunyemi said.

He added: “We have proposed a solution which we called University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS. If they cooperate with us, the UTAS will take care of their fears, because it is very simple. If you go to any branch of any bank and you want to open an account, you don’t need to go to the national headquarters to capture your details.”

He explained that the union had introduced a solution that will operate like IPPIS but would be managed by ASUU and monitored by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

According to him, “some people don’t want to cooperate with us to ensure that we pull that alternative (UTAS) solution through.”

He said further: “It appears some individuals in government are trying to sabotage the process and they did not want us to present our alternative to IPPIS. We believe that what we are doing is in the best interest of the Nigerian University system because there is no university in the world where you have its things tied up with the civil service.

“We will not take it that; we will not allow the Federal Government or agent of government to compound the problems in our universities and our country.”

To this end, the union resolved that it would revoke its long term resolution of “No Pay, no Work,” adding that “ASUU will respond appropriately.”