ASUU dares FG, boycotts IPPIS enrolment
The faceoff between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may not be resolved any time soon as the lecturers yesterday refused to enrol in the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
ASUU had on Sunday directed its members to boycott the purported “Circular” from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to enrol academic staff in the IPPISto eliminate salary related fraud.
The union said the same Accountant General of the Federation had challenged the union to develop a template that accommodates the peculiarities of academic staff and present same to it.
Daily Trust checks across some universities in the country showed that the universities stood their ground.
The National Investment Secretary of ASUU, University of Abuja chapter, Dr Ben Ugheoke, said nothing was happening at the university regarding the IPPIS.
He said the staff were earlier briefed by the branch leadership to stay away from the exercise and as such nothing was going on.
Also, the Borno State chapter held an emergency meeting yesterday and directed its members to take no action regarding the registration for IPPIS.
Speaking on behalf of the congress, the state chairperson of ASUU, Professor Dani Mamman, announced the decision in a statement issued shortly after the meeting.
“This is to inform that members of the Emergency Congress of Monday 25th November, 2019 reaffirmed its earlier resolution that members should not register for Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) until all our peculiarities are accommodated,” he said
He said: “Consequently, we wish to state that members of ASUU UNIMAID should disregard the letter circulated from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on this issue until further information and directives are received from the National Executive Council.”
Meanwhile, ASUU at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) said it would boycott the IPPIS, but the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU), said it would comply with the federal government’s directive on the enrolment.
This comes just as no FG delegation was present in the institution on Monday for the commencement of the exercise slated to hold between November 25 and December 7, 2019.
When our correspondent visited the institution on Monday, members of ASUU were locked in a congress in line with the directive of the national body.
The Chairman FUNAAB ASUU, Dr Adebayo told newsmen after the congress that there was no going back on the planned boycott of the enrolment.
He emphasized that there would be 100 percent compliance of ASUU members, but hinted that the body would deploy internal mechanism to mete out punishment to erring members.
“The truth of the matter is, it is a collective responsibility and every decision taken by the union is binding on everybody whether you attended the congress or not as long as the congress is properly constituted,” he said.
“We have evidence that today’s congress is properly constituted and decisions and directives therein are binding on every member. And we are sure there will be 100 percent compliance,” Oni said.
However, the Chairman of FUNAAB NASU, Samson Idowu hinted that the national body has directed them to participate in the enrolment, saying they are fully prepared to participate.
“Our members are fully ready and we are going to comply 100 percent,” he said.
But the Chairman of University of Port Harcourt ASUU, Dr Austen Sado, said there was no need to embark on strike over implementation of IPPIS, noting that the union had already engaged the Senate, the AccountantGeneral of the Federation as well as the consultant handling IPPIS on the matter.
Dr Sado, who spoke with our reporter in Port Harcourt, said the union held a meeting where a resolution was passed rejecting the IPPIS in totality adding thatit was a violation of the existing laws of the country.
“There is no need yet to talk about strike. Even the IPPIS people I am not sure they are coming. They are not on the campus I am not sure they will come. I think that government is actually indulging in propaganda to ensure that they smear the good image of ASUU by involving the media to mislead Nigerians”
Similarly, the Chairman of ASUU University of Jos branch, Lazarus Maigoro, said they rejected IPPIS in line with the directive from the ASUU national body.
He told our correspondent that they are not carried along in the whole arrangement and it was the school management that was being dealt with in that respect.
Maigoro said their resolve not to be part of IPPIS was re-enforced yesterday at their emergency meeting, adding that it was not being implemented in the university and that none of their memberswould be part of it.
He urged their members to remain steadfast and do all they should to uphold their position.
At the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the situation was not different as the enrolment of workers into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) scheduled to commence on Monday did not hold.The team from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) was not available to carry out the exercise.
Our reporter who visited the university observed some academicand non-academic staff going about with documents and getting ready for the exercise. Also, the management of UNILAG had prepared a timetable showing how each faculty and directorate would go for the exercise in turns.
Going by the memo from Abuja, the exercise is billed to end by December 7, 2019 but UNILAG in its own timetable projected that it could end by December 6.
The Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNILAG chapter, Dr. Dele Ashiru, said the union was against the enrolment of its members on IPPIS, adding, “Our position remain unchanged as we have asked our members not to enrol on any IPPIS,” he said.
However, contrary to the position of ASUU, the Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANIU), UNILAG chapter, Sowunmi Olusola said his members would be actively involved in the exercise.