The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned the Federal Government against playing politics with the implementation of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) platform in public universities.
ASUU had announced a two-month extension of its initial four-week warning strike in March over government’s failure to implement the draft renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement and deploy UTAS, the homegrown payment and personnel solution in the universities.
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Arising from its zonal meeting on Tuesday at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, the ASUU Lagos Zone particularly accused the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ali Isa Pantami of playing politics with UTAS,.
The Coordinator of ASUU, Lagos Zone, Adelaja Odukoya, flanked by the branch Chairmen, warned that politicising UTAS implementation would escalate the ongoing strike of the union.
He expressed worry that despite two different integrity tests conducted on the UTAS by the NiTDA, with respective scores of 97.4 percent and 99.3 percent, the agency declined issuance of Certificate of Compliance.
Odukoya pointed out that “it is honourable for Government to salute our Union and replace IPPIS with our better home-grown solution.”
He alleged that Pantami had turned NiTDA into an instrument of political vendetta over ASUU’s rejection of the Minister’s professorial appointment by the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO).
Odukoya said “We are aware that the position of the DG NITDA is not consistent with the enthusiasm of the Technical Team from the Agency he superintends over and the DG is unduly politicizing the entire process to the disadvantage of the country, possibly in the interest of the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy.
“Their dispositions amount to passing a vote of no confidence on the Nigerian intelligentsia and our Union would not allow this to fly. Good enough, we are convinced that the Technical Team from NITDA, are quite abreast of the process and the responsibilities around their certified qualifications.
“ASUU therefore, wants the Nigerian public to call the DG, NITDA to order on the point of integrity not to play politics and vendetta [Pantamize] with the future of Nigeria and that of our public Universities as National treasures and collective patrimony of all Nigerian citizens. We are convinced that the DG of NITDA is only out to carry out the hatchet job of a Minister whose Professorial fraud was challenged by our Union.”
On the ongoing strike, he said the industrial action would not be suspended until “Government addresses the adoption of UTAS, implement the renegotiated agreement, pay all outstanding allowances (without prejudice to the donation of $1 million to Afghanistan) and fulfil all other issues contained in the Memorandum of Action signed with our Union.”
