ASUU, FG Clash as Government Excludes Tertiary Institutions from IPPIS

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed disagreement with the Federal Government over reports of the removal of federal tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

Reports from Monday highlighted that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) confirmed the deactivation of IPPIS for these institutions. Director of Press and Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, noted, "It was only natural for the IPPIS platform for FTIs to be shut down, given the Federal Government’s directive to remove these institutions from the system."

However, ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, criticized the move, describing it as misleading. He explained that the new guidelines still require universities to send salaries to IPPIS for verification and screening. "It is not acceptable to us as a union," Osodeke stated. "If they want to remove us from IPPIS, why should IPPIS still verify our salaries?"

ASUU has long argued that the IPPIS template undermines university autonomy and fails to account for arrears on promotions, study leave, and other allowances. They contend that IPPIS also attempts to phase out lecturers over 60, contradicting the statutory retirement age of 70 for professors. In response, ASUU developed an alternative platform, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), though it has not been adopted by the government.

Other university unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), indicated that they were not informed of the development.

Osodeke added that ASUU is set to meet with the government’s renegotiation team soon, hoping for progress on the union's 2009 agreement with the government.

Meanwhile, the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) on Monday demanded that the Federal Government release over three months of withheld salaries for its members. CONUA National President, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, stated that the government’s refusal to pay members who did not participate in the ASUU strike could jeopardize stability in the country’s universities.

Sunmonu noted that the National Industrial Court judgment on July 25, 2023, affirmed CONUA as an independent union, separate from ASUU. He highlighted that the continued withholding of CONUA members' salaries, despite their non-participation in strikes, contravenes the Trade Disputes Act, which safeguards wages for employees uninvolved in industrial actions.

Sunmonu urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address the issue, stressing that withholding these salaries is unjust and against global labor practices.