The ongoing conflict between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government continues as they clash over the appropriate salary payment platform and the formation of new governing councils for universities.
Last year, the Nigerian government exempted federal-owned tertiary institutions from using the Integrated Personnel Payment System (IPPIS) for salary payments.
However, despite the announcement, the new policy has not been implemented, and the government is now considering using the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) to pay lecturers’ salaries.
This indicates that the government has disregarded the lecturers’ proposed alternative, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
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As of now, lecturers are still being paid through IPPIS, with the only noticeable change being the addition of the word ‘new’ to the payment notification.
In a statement to Obasanjonews.com, Comrade Nobert Oyibo Eze, the chairperson of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) ASUU branch, confirmed that the federal government has not yet implemented the announcement regarding ASUU’s exemption from IPPIS.
Eze stated that there have been no changes made in this regard. When asked for further details, Eze requested to be contacted at a later time.
It is worth noting that the deployment of IPPIS by the government was a major point of contention that resulted in a prolonged strike by ASUU in 2022.
ASUU has consistently accused the government of encroaching on the autonomy of universities and interfering with the work of governing councils and vice-chancellors.
The union has also raised concerns about irregularities in the payment of its members’ salaries, with some lecturers alleging that they have been shortchanged.
The University of Jos branch of ASUU has also called for the immediate removal of its members from IPPIS, as directed by the FEC in 2023, and has reiterated its demands for the implementation of nine key points presented to the government.
This call was made during a peaceful protest in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.
