The enrolment for the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System did not start in universities on Monday as officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had yet to arrive at institutions. The PUNCH, however, gathered that the exercise would start fully on Tuesday (today) as officials arrived in the universities on Monday afternoon.
But the University of Ibadan chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday set up a monitoring committee to ensure that none of its members register for the IPPIS. The UI ASUU announced the committee at a congress of the union held at the Faculty of Arts of the institution.
The congress, which was presided by the Chairman, Prof. Deji Omole, resolved to abide by the directive of the national leadership of the union not to register for the IPPIS. In a resolution read by the Secretary of the union, Prof. Peter Olapegba, the congress resolved to stop work in the event of stoppage of salary of lecturers.
Speaking to one of our correspondents, Omole said, “Our position remains that the university autonomy should be respected. We are not under the Federal Government’s MDAs.
“There is no threat to us as far as we are concerned. You can also observe that the congress was well attended by our members and they have complied with the position of ASUU leadership.We has also set up a monitoring committee to ensure full compliance,” Omole added.
At the University of Calabar, ASUU reiterated its stand not to participate in the IPPIS, although officials from the AGF Office had yet to arrive the university.
UNICAL ASUU Chairman, Dr John Edor, said, “We have just risen from a congress and our branch unanimously reaffirmed the resolution of NEC where we said the IPPIS was uncongenial with the modus operandi of the university system.” But the chairperson of the UNICAL branch of NASU, Mrs Alice Oduyaya, told The PUNCH that the headquarters of the union had directed its members to enrol in the IPPIS.
At the University of Ilorin, members of ASUU in the university said they would not participate in the exercise, other workers of the university said that they would register for IPPIS. The Chairman of UNILORIN ASUU, Prof. Moyosore Ajao, said members would not participate in registering for the IPPIS.
Ajao said, “We held a congress this morning where we resolved that we would not participate in registering for the IPPIS.” Lecturers at the University of Jos on Monday also vowed not to make themselves available for the IPPIS enrolment.
A former Chairman of ASUU in UNIJOS and National Internal Auditor, Dr Chris Piwuna, told one of our correspondents that the decision of members to boycott the enrolment was in line with the directive of the ASUU national secretariat.
The Chairman of the institution’s branch of the National Association of Academic Technologists, Mr Mafuyai also said, “As far as I am concerned, our members are not aware of the presence of any official for the IPPIS enrolment. So, we cannot be part of what we are not aware of.”
As of 2.12pm on Monday, one of our correspondents observed lecturers at the Ahmadu Bello University were going about their normal business just as there was no trace of officials for the enrolment.
At the secretariat of the ASUU at the Samaru main campus of the ABU, there was a circular directing all members not to enrol for the IPPIS. According to the chapter’s Chairman, Prof. Rabiu Nasir, all members should steer clear of the government’s directive in line with the subsisting NEC’s resolution on the IPPIS..
ASUU at the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, said its members would not enrol in the IPPIS enrolment. The Chairman of ASUU, FUO, Dr Akpan Emmanuel, stated this on Monday in an interview with one of our correspondents.
He said members of the FUO branch of the union would not do anything contrary to the directive of its national leadership. Also, officials of the IPPIS were absent from the University of Lagos. When one of our correspondents visited the Jelili Omotola Hall, where the registration was supposed to hold, only few members of staff were on the ground complaining that they have been waiting for the IPPIS officials. One of them, a non-academic staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Non-Academic Staff Union of University, UNILAG chapter did not have any issue with the registration.
The University of Port Harcourt ASUU, according to its Chairman, Dr Austen Sado, said it would not have made any difference if they (government officials) had come for the exercise.
He said, “As far as we know, we did not see any government team here. But we had a meeting today where we resolved that we would not be available for the enrolment. The congress met today (Monday) to resolve that the IPPIS enrolment is a violation of the existing law in this country.”
The Chairman of ASUU at the Federal University, Dutsin-ma, Katsina State, Dr Yahaya Muhammed, said, “We are holding our own congress on the issue this afternoon. But you should know that ASUU’s national body has directed that none of its members should enrol for the IPPIS and we are not going against the directive here.
CONUA, NUATSU restate readiness to enrol
Members of the Nigeria University Administrative and Technical Staff Union and Congress of University Academics at the Obafemi Awolowo University said they were ready to register for the IPPIS
The CONUA National Coordinator, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, who said members of the union would register for the payroll system, expressed hope that the Federal Government would keep its promises to address envisaged challenges that might accompany the policy.
The Chairman of ASUU, Dr Adeola Egbedokun, however, dscribed IPPIS as a fraud.
Egbedokun, in a radio programme on Rave FM, Osogbo on Monday, said, “Many civil servants that registered on the IPPIS platform have fallen victims of unexplained deductions from their salaries. A lot of civil servants are suffering in silence over the inadequacies of the payroll system.
“The IPPIS has no capacity to take care of the peculiarities of the university system. ASUU has registered it concerns regarding the policy with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.” Punch
