The other end-of-year good news is the one that says that ASUU and CONUA are already in discussion to mend fences and present a common front once again. As I have said repeatedly, they need it; otherwise, they will be making themselves easy targets for their enemies. United we stand; divided we fall! ASUU should back down from their high horse; the havoc that Osodeke’s stiff-necked leadership has done to the universities is enough. CONUA and NAMDA should also trash the piece of paper the Presidency awarded them as a so-called registration certificate. This is the time for accommodation, moderation and statesmanship to address, like one man, the problems bedeviling our institutions of higher learning.

The prognosis does not look good at all for our institutions of higher learning – but we must start somewhere. Getting rid of IPPIS perhaps provides that start.

IPPIS was a disaster of monumental proportions; it is unfortunate that in discarding it, the Presidency was tongue-tied in describing it as such and offering apologies but went on a rigmarole. It was under IPPIS that an accountant-general of the Federation reportedly embezzled over a hundred billion Naira. Someone said that was just a tip of the iceberg. What of other bigger and smaller thieves! IPPIS sowed grief, sorrow and tears in our institutions of higher learning. Virtually every lecturer has harrowing IPPIS tales to tell. Many died or were scarred for life as a result of shuttling between their institution and Abuja to rectify this or that on IPPIS.

For sure, the decay in our institutions of higher learning has been ongoing for decades; but the eight ruinous years of the Muhammadu Buhari administration brought the parlous state of the universities and polytechnics to a head. Discarding the IPPIS is good but more than that is needed; what is actually required is the declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector, just as is needed in the health sector. It is doubtful if the Governing Council of any of these institutions can be up to the task; therefore, the government washing its hands off the institutions simply by handing them over to their Governing Councils may mean abdication of responsibility. The Federal Government has a lot more to do if our institutions of higher learning are to regain their lost glory.

The first place to start is the recruitment of vice-chancellors and Governing Council members. In those days, men and women of integrity were appointed into the top leadership positions in our institutions of higher learning. The best of the best academics and top bureaucrats were head-hunted; even begged, to assume office. Today, the dregs are mostly the ones who fill many of the offices. People lobby; even offer sacrifices and swear to oaths of allegiance to get appointments over and above their betters. They owe allegiance to politicians and traditional-ruler godfathers and do the bidding of outsiders.

The interest of their students and peers counts for nothing. Once they satisfy the commands of those who got them the office and have some crumbs left to cart home, that is all that matters. Gone were those days when vice-chancellors could speak truth to power; when they could stare the powers-that-be eyes’ down and walk away from office on principles. Many even placed their life on the line! We must return to those days. Once we miss it at the recruitment level, not much will be achieved.

If we get the recruitment right, then, the next hurdle is the appropriate funding of the institutions of higher learning. There are four steps here: The first is subvention from the government. Over many decades, the government has demonstrated its scant regard for education with the meagre sums voted for the sector year-in, year-out. If we understand that no nation develops faster than its level of education, then, we must give education the pride of place it deserves. Because we have neglected the sector repeatedly for years and decades is why we must now declare a state of emergency there; stop profligacy in other sectors so as to release money to be pumped into the education sector. Government funding must improve significantly over the next many years and decades.

The second is the contribution from parents and guardians in the form of school fees. I am bold to say that I believe in the payment of school fees in our institutions of higher learning. I paid school fees in private primary and secondary schools that were four, five or more times higher than what I pay now at the university level. But let provisions be made for those who cannot afford to pay. The Students’ Loan whatever is a good idea; let it be made affordable, and let it cover both public and private institutions.

Thirdly, endowments are a rich source of funding of institutions of higher learning in other climes but this is a practice yet to take roots here. Some of our universities have launched endowment funds but not much publicity has been given to it. Our rich men and women are not sold out to endowments. Efforts must be made to encourage endowments. The institutions themselves have a lot to do in this regard. They must go out. They must reach out. They must bring in the funds. If need be, let them find out how their peers abroad do it. Government should help by giving tax rebates and tax holidays to those who contribute to endowment funds.

READ ALSO: University education as mere meal ticket…, By Bola Bolawole

Then, the institutions must make themselves relevant to the needs of industries and society at large. Town and gown must not only meet; they must also mesh. But where are the research findings of our institutions of higher learning? What is their contribution to the development of our society? How much of their “book” knowledge is turned into practical tools and projects? What day-to-day problems have they solved? Contracts that their departments should execute should not be awarded to outsiders! They should repair their own broken-down vehicles and change damaged bulbs! What kind of institutions of higher learning do we parade? Feeding bottle higher institutions?

Once the recruitment process is right and the avenues for appropriate funding are aggressively pursued, the next challenge is to plug the gaping holes in the system. Corruption is as endemic in our institutions of higher learning as it is in the society at large. Because many of the vice-chancellors and Governing Council members are political appointees, even card-carrying political party members or sympathizers, they hold their institutions down for political godfathers to milk dry. And because the fish rots from the head, once the other members of the institution see this, they, too, fly on the institution’s coffers and it becomes a free-for-all. To curb corruption in our institutions of higher learning, men and women of probity, honesty and integrity must be appointed into office; otherwise, forget it!

The Student Union is worse! Now we have career students who never graduate from the university.

There are two groups of watchdogs that should do the system a world of good – the staff unions and the student union. Unfortunately, both have become enmeshed in the same sesame of corruption. Whatever the staff unions call themselves does not matter! They are all the same. Where many of them are not stealing money, they are leveraging their union offices to blackmail corrupt and compromised university officials to bag unearned promotions. Among them are professors who profess nothing. How can such fellows hold the feet of the university administrators to the fire? Disillusionment is on the rise for the upright among them who are unwilling to join the rat race.

The Student Union is worse! Now we have career students who never graduate from the university. We have grandfathers who are perennial and perpetual undergraduate or post-graduate students. Their target is to become president of the Student Union or that of the national body, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). From that vantage position, they begin to root the Presidency, the National Assembly and Governors’ offices offering themselves as thugs and enforcers. The last attempt by NANS to elect its officers ended in a gun battle by rival contenders. Things have gotten that bad with student unionism in Nigeria. What kind of leaders of tomorrow will such bad eggs make?

To summarize: The prognosis does not look good at all for our institutions of higher learning – but we must start somewhere. Getting rid of IPPIS perhaps provides that start. What we build on it going forward is, however, more important.

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0807 552 5533)

The post Now that IPPIS is gone…, By Bola Bolawole appeared first on Frontpageng.

President of ARD-UCH, Dr Abiodun Ogundipe, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan the action was to demand for the enrollment of their colleagues on government’s payment platform.

He said the strike commenced at 8 a.m. on Thursday to call the attention of government to the plight of 250 members of the association.

Ogundipe said the members were employed at UCH in May and were yet to be captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, and had not been receiving salaries.

READ ALSO: Resident doctors give FG two weeks to increase salary

“Up till now they were yet to be captured on the platform, which means there is no hope in sight for them.

“This is why we have embarked on this industrial action to express our displeasure and also to plead with the government to help us facilitate this and ensure that our members are as soon as possible placed on the IPPIS platform so that life can be better for them,” he said.

Ogundipe said the strike would be for three weeks hopefully, depending on when the issue would be resolved.

“There are other national issues bordering on welfare which the government needs to address, and we are having a meeting tomorrow (Friday) to review them.

“Already, we have a two-week ultimatum given to the federal government.

“This is regarding some of our welfare issues and other matters that have been lingering for long,” he said.

Source: NAN

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Key among the demands is that they should be exempted from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, and the government has granted that.

The new development was announced on Friday by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, after a meeting between the federal government and ASUU in Abuja.

He stated that the government had also resolved to pay the aggrieved lecturers their salary arrears from February to June, using the old payment platform of Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System.

That, Ngige said, was pending when the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, which the lecturer insisted should be used instead of IPPIS would be ready.

Said the minister: “We are also reviewing how the lecturers will be paid on the old platform until UTAS is ready for usage.

“We agreed also that the withheld salaries are the component of the issue of ‘no work, no pay’ that was invoked and the Minister of Education and myself are working on that to get approval for the lifting of the embargo.

“This is a transition period between the formalisation of UTAS, and as soon as we finish this, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the National Universities Commission and the Vice Chancellors are to work together to make sure that the withheld salaries are paid through the old platform, which the Accountant General’s office used in paying the salaries of university workers that were not captured on IPPIs for the months of February, March, April, May and June.”

At the meeting which lasted about seven hours, the federal government resolved to increase the Earned Allowances to university staff from N30 billion to N35 billion.

The revitalisation fund was also increased from N20 billion to N25 billion.

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Unlike Nigeria’s #ENDSARS protesters that were just sitting down singing the national anthem and raising the country’s flags before the military pounced on them, the protesters in Peru reportedly threw fireworks and stones at the police before the police in return fired tear gas and shot gun pellets to repel them. This led to the death of two students, Jack Pintado, 22, and Inti Sotelo, 24.

Hours after the incident, Merino told the nation in a televised address: “I want to let the whole country know that I’m resigning.”  He would have retained the presidency until July 2021 when Vizcarra’s term was due to end.

Interestingly, Peru’s politicians spearheaded their president’s resignation. In fact, 12 ministers appointed by Merino were the first to resign in protest against police brutality and his handling of the crisis.

Interestingly, the reason for the youth protest in Peru was purely political. Yet, nobody hounded them.  The youth were demonstrating against the removal of Vizcarra, who was impeached over bribery allegations.  They believe the Congress staged a parliamentary coup against the former president.

When I read reports like this, I ask myself if Nigerians are living in the same planet as others. A president resigning over the death of two protesters and twelve ministers quitting in protest over the manner a president that appointed them handled a protest? Is this real?  In my own dear country, the President is like a mini god. Ministers are too grateful to be called cabinet members that they will never dare see anything wrong in a president’s action. The generality of the people are randomly accused of working for the opposition anytime they criticise people in government.  If care is not taken, such critics could be arrested for treasonable felony. I guess leaders of Nigeria’s #ENDSARS protesters that have been linked to terrorists overnight will understand my point.

If Nigeria were to be Peru, I wonder how many people would have resigned their appointments by now. Definitely, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has been publicly tagged a liar by the nation’s military authorities on two occasions, shouldn’t be anywhere near the state house again. The police IG who supervised the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad that killed and maimed Nigerians would have long left office. Likewise, the Chief of Army Staff, whose men killed innocent protesters, should have resigned in shame.  Above all, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the commander in chief of the armed forces, ought to have resigned honourably.

If Nigeria were to be Peru, I wonder how many people would have resigned their appointments by now. Definitely, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has been publicly tagged a liar by the nation’s military authorities on two occasions, shouldn’t be anywhere near the state house again.

Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. Nigeria is still far from civilisation. In fact, if we want to be true to ourselves, Africa’s giant seems to belong to the stone- age! We did not only beg our President to speak on the #ENDSARS protests, by the time he did, he didn’t say a word about the people killed. Not even a word of condolence to their families. To worsen the situation, innocent protesters are being hounded, detained and their accounts frozen.  A country that has failed to trace funders of Boko Haram insurgency that has wreaked havoc on the nation for years with billions of Naira wasted in fighting them without success; is busy linking peaceful and innocent protesters to terrorists. That is Nigerian leaders for you! They chase the shadows at the expense of the substance.

And this brings me to the issue of charade called negotiation as well as the shenanigans of our leaders in the ongoing faceoff between the Federal Government and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Those who thought government was serious about resolving the crisis should know by now that everybody was probably just dancing in a circle. Or how do you explain the statement credited to the Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige on the most contentious issue that has kept the lecturers off classes for months – the Integrated Payroll and Personnel   Information System (IPPIS).  Never mind ASUU when it says the strike is not about IPPIS alone, I am 100 per cent sure that the union will call of its strike once government rescinds the decision to pay lecturers via the controversial payroll platform.

Chris Ngige said on Tuesday that the integrity test being conducted on the software of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) being proposed by ASUU as replacement for IPPIS would take between six and eight weeks to be completed.  That shouldn’t be a problem I guess.  However, the caveat is that while ASUU has software, it does not have hardware to back up its software. This implies that even if the software passes the integrity test being conducted by the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), there would still be a problem as university teachers do not have the needed fund to procure the necessary hardware for its implementation.

The minister said that since the Federal Government did not make provision for the procurement of the UTAS hardware in the budget, it cannot provide funds to finance it. The minister sounded as if this government has never spent on anything outside budgetary allocation. The question then is: when government knew nothing would come out of the UTAS, why raise hope on it? Why did government give Nigerians the impression that something tangible could come out of the integrity test?  According to the minister, the Federal Government only sent the UTAS software to NITDA for integrity test because it did not want to discourage anybody or group from providing home-grown solutions to issues.

His words: “The UTAS, that is the University Transparent System, which they brought, is not yet ready. It is not fully ready; it is undergoing an integrity test for the software. I am not a computer scientist, but you must also know that you must test the hardware and do the integrity test for the software.

Our government’s lack of seriousness has made Nigeria a recruiting ground for universities abroad.

“As we speak, ASUU has no hardware and UTAS does not have hardware backing. I am waiting for the NITDA’s full report but the preliminary report they gave me, the software integrity test will take them about six to eight weeks and thereafter, we go to the hardware.

“But the big issue is: who will provide the hardware? ASUU does not have the finances to do so. Has the government budgeted for it now as we speak? So, that one is a major problem. But we don’t have to dissuade anybody, we don’t have to tell anybody not to carry on, we like local content development, we need our things to be home grown. So, we are really encouraging them.”

In other words, all the talks about UTAS in the past have been mere jokes! Imagine this level of insensitivity from leaders of a country rated poorly relative to others on global education indicators.  In the World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17” Nigeria ranked 124th out of 138 countries for the quality of its education.  As of today, the population of Nigerian youths in universities is nothing to write home about.  Statistics from the National Universities Commission suggests 1.9 million students were studying in Nigerian Universities as of 2018. I doubt if anything much has changed since then. After all, some students have remained in final year since 2018.  One would have expected a serious-minded country to be thinking of how to expand access to university education and not shrinking it. This is a country with youth population said to be in the region of 115 million, most of them living below poverty level.  But clearly our leaders prefer prolonged strikes in our tertiary institutions.

According to a report, ASUU has gone on strike 15 times between 1999 and 2020 spanning 50 months. In other words, ASUU has gone on strike for a full four years and two months in less than 21 years and still counting. Who does this and makes progress? Lecturers are always fighting for one thing or the other. In fairness to the union, some of its strikes have yielded some tangible results like the establishment of TetFund for example. But generally speaking, the situation in our universities is still largely deplorable. Shouldn’t it be an aberration for a government to always wait for lecturers to go on strike before injecting funds into its educational system? Unfortunately, the only language our government understands is the language of strike!

Our government’s lack of seriousness has made Nigeria a recruiting ground for universities abroad. During the 2015/16 academic year there were 71,351 Nigerian students registered at foreign universities, the highest number of any African country and up by 164% from 26,997 in 2005/06, according to UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics. Nearly 18,000 Nigerians studied in the UK in 2015/16. As at 2016, Nigerians spent about $2bn annually on overseas education.

Where is this money coming from? Apart from very few rich individuals who can actually fund their children’s education overseas, most of the fund is from thieving government functionaries – politicians, civil servants, etc. We deliberately destroy our educational system, enrich other countries and at the same time complain of poverty? We are making university education the preserves of the rich forgetting that many people in leadership positions today wouldn’t have been there had  our past heroes blocked their access to higher education.

Sincerely, it beats my imagination that a country can be this lackadaisical about its education sector. Nigeria killed its public primary and secondary schools. It has been killing its tertiary institutions systematically. And now it seems the ongoing ASUU strike will sound the death knell for our public universities. What a pity!

*Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief, Franktalknow.com and member, Nigeria Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk

The post The charade called FG-ASUU negotiations, By Olabisi Deji-Folutile appeared first on Frontpageng.

Dr. Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, quoted Mallam Mele Kyari as saying, in a release, that the industrial action embarked upon by PENGASSAN would not lead to scarcity of petroleum products as all fuel stations and petrol depots in the country have enough stock of products to service consumers and are open for business.

While expressing hope that the industrial dispute would be settled amicably, Kyari assured that the Corporation had thus far emplaced a stock of over 2.9 billion litres of petrol to guarantee seamless movement of people, goods and services across the country in the forthcoming Christmas season and beyond.

The NNPC GMD reiterated that the Corporation was determined to make the 2020 end-of-year festivities a zero fuel queue period just like the preceding year, noting that critical stockholders in the petroleum products supply and distribution chain such as tanker drivers, depot owners and road transport owners had been mobilised to ensure hitch-free season.

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ASUU president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, said this in a statement made available on Sunday in Abuja that the ongoing strike might still linger if government failed to meets its demand.

ASUU had embarked a nationwide strike on March 23 to press on its demands which include revitalisation, Earned Academic Allowances, EAA, renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, Visitation Panels, among others.

According to Ogunyemi, Nigerians should bear with ASUU as its actions were in the interest of all.

“Our union is struggling to ensure that the children of the poor, who cannot afford the prohibitive cost paid in private universities or do not have opportunities to study outside Nigeria, get quality education which is not priced beyond their reach.

“This will only happen when government adequately funds public universities and addresses the rot and decay in them.

“ASUU has shifted positions in some respects.

“For instance, our members have reduced their demand of one tranche N220 billion of the outstanding revitalisation fund by 50 per cent.

“The union has also agreed that N30 billion out of the so far verified arrears of N40 billion of the earned academic allowances (EAA) be paid to our members while the balance of N10 billion could be spread over the next two tranches.

“We were equally making steady progress on other issues,” he said.

ASUU president, therefore, noted that what had stalled meaningful dialogue was government’s insistence that payment of the withheld salaries and other entitlements of its members would only be effected through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS.

He added that government was punishing university teachers because they rejected IPPIS, which was imposed on the universities against the provisions of the law on autonomy and universal practices.

He, however, said that ASUU was at the final stage of the integrity test of the Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, with the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA.

UTAS was developed locally by ASUU members, unlike IPPIS which was engineered by the World Bank.

Ogunyemi said UTAS had been presented to the Minister of Education and senior management staff, the President and leadership of Senate, and the Office of the Accountant-General where NITDA and Office of the National Security Adviser and other MDAs were fully represented.

“Last Thursday, 5th November, 2020, the National Universities Commission (NUC) facilitated the presentation of UTAS to Vice-Chancellors and Bursars of federal universities.

“All questions raised at the four levels of presentation of UTAS were satisfactorily answered.

“With the full cooperation of the concerned agencies, the final test with NITDA could be completed as a matter of days and UTAS adopted in place of IPPIS in our universities.

“ASUU disagrees with government on the use of IPPIS during the so-called transition period.

“In practical terms, there is no transition period if government is sincere,” Ogunyemi said.

The ASUU president said it would take a longer period to capture more than three-quarters of its members who were not yet on IPPIS than the time required to run through the last stage of the integrity test for UTAS.

He added that the claim by government that the platform used in paying its members’ salaries before the imposition of IPPIS had been dismantled was not true.

He noted that some of its members who had not enrolled in IPPIS were paid part of their withheld salaries last week.

“But, in furtherance of the attack on ASUU, the Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, has illegally seized all the deducted union check-off dues of our members in the last nine months.

“So, government should release all what is due ASUU members and the union without the conditionality of IPPIS.

“That would enable us conclude on the outstanding five demands including revitalisation, EAA, renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, inauguration of the Visitation Panels.

“Others are proliferation of state universities and governance issues in order for the union to pave way for the quick resolution of the lingering crisis.

“It is government that is prolonging the matter, not ASUU,” he added.

Source: NAN

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The meeting which was presided over by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan was attended by Ministers of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, Labour, Chris Ngige, the Accountant General of the Federation represented the Finance Minister and the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission, NUC.

The meeting was later expanded to include the leaders of ASUU who on Monday had an extensive discussion with the Senate leadership on the controversy bordering on enrollment on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS.

In his opening remarks, the Senate President said the continued closure of universities on the flip-side posed a security threat which on the long run would affect Nigeria adversely.

“The strike by ASUU is an ill-wind that does no one any good. Our children are home, whereas they should be in school.

“We cannot watch the situation deteriorate. This is beyond education as it borders on security as well, and the future of this country is going to be affected adversely as it is.

“So, we feel we should engage with the executive arm of government to hear out what they have to say. This is with the firm belief that we would find a solution to this problem.

“We are convinced that when we sit together, we will understand ourselves. And it is in the best interest of us all that we resolve this issue.

“I told ASUU yesterday and I’ll repeat it here, that it has to be a win-win situation. ASUU cannot get just what they are asking for because it is simply unrealistic, and government cannot hold back and not do anything.

“Something has to give by virtue of horse trading and accommodation; some kind of understanding has to be reached so that ASUU goes back to work and our universities reopened,” Lawan appealed.

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The president of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, made this disclosure in a letter addressed to zonal coordinators, chairpersons and members of the union, which was made available to journalists in Ibadan, by the Chairman, ASUU, University of Ibadan chapter, Prof. Ayo Akinwole.

Ogunyemi described the IPPIS as “a business venture of some interest groups” in Nigeria adding that “their profit margin increases by the increasing number of university staff they are able to capture.”

He admonished members of the union not to waiver in their resolve to reject it.

He maintained that the deliberate withholding and distortion of salaries by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were ploys to hoodwink and arm-twist members to swallow their vomit on IPPIS.

ASUU had been on strike for some months to get unfulfilled agreements signed with the Federal Government implemented and negotiate befitting conditions of service for its members including salaries while opposing the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

However despite the opposition by the union, the Federal Government forcefully migrated members of the union in federal varsities.

Ogunyemi assured members that once the issue of payment platform was sorted out, the union would then pursue to logical conclusion the main demands behind the ongoing strike, stating that as a collective, the union would be able to “negotiate and secure what is good for Nigerian academics and our university system.”

He said, “As expected, the vested interests are uncomfortable with the emergence of the university transparency (UTAS) because of its potential for exposing the IIPIS fraud. The impression earlier created was that no further payment of salaries could be made without “data capture”. However, the IPPIS office has forcefully migrated all academic staff in federal universities to the platform and what is being done now is to “formalise” the process.

“Deliberate withholding and distortion of salary payment by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) are ploys to hoodwink and arm-twist ASUU members to swallow their vomit on IPPIS. At this stage it is unedifying to see ASUU members filling to the Bursar’s Office of OAGF for IPPIS data capture. Apart from betraying the Union, many of those who attempted to “go solo” have also been ridiculed beyond description. Even non-members respect the ASUU for its informed and principled position on IPPIS.”

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The union threatened that any attempt by the Federal Government to stop members salary would see the union embarking on an indefinite strike.

The National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, gave the warning in Nsukka on Thursday while briefing newsmen shortly after addressing ASUU members in the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN.

He said enrolling in IPPIS amounted to destroying the autonomy and putting obstacles in the progress of public universities.

“ASUU is protecting the autonomy of universities for the interest of Nigerians and generation yet unborn.

“ASUU will continue to say no to enrolment into IPPIS and if the federal government stops our salary, we will stop work.

“IPPIS is an instrument by government to erode the autonomy of public universities in the country,” he said.

Ogunyemi said that the alternative platform for IPPIS provided by ASUU was better than IPPIS as it was more transparent and university friendly.

“I am surprised that governments refused to allow ASUU to use that alternative payroll platform that is better than IPPIS.

“IPPIS is not flexible enough to reflect all the flexibility in universities,” he said.

ASUU boss described as “unacceptable” a situation whereby a Vice-Chancellor must take permission from Head of Service of the Federation before employing academic staff.

“Why the universities all over the world are autonomous is because it can recruit academic staff the university needs at any point in time.

“With IPPIS, it will be difficult for any vice chancellor to recruit academic staff as well as for professors outside the country to visit any public university for academics,” he said.

According to him, government said the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, staff were not expected to enrol in IPPIS because they generated money for the country.

“If NNPC and CBN generate money, universities generate knowledge and knowledge is greater than money and so universities should be exempted from IPPIS,” he said.

The president expressed satisfaction on the maximum support from members nationwide, adding that ASUU would not relent in protecting the autonomy of public universities in the country.

“I am in the UNN to update members on issues concerning the union as well as solicit for more support from them.

“I commend academic staff in UNN for the impressive turnout to the meeting which shows maximum support and solidarity for the union,” he said.

Source: NAN

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President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, alongside some members of the Senate, met with ASUU leaders at the National Assembly to better understand the crux of the matter between the varsity teachers and the Federal Government over the payroll system.

ASUU President,  Biodun Ogunyemi, who led his team, presented the union’s position and argued that the IPPIS should not be run within the university system in the country because it’s a violation of the University autonomy.

Responding, Lawan said the intervention in the dispute by the Senate leadership was to find an amicable resolution of the matter to ensure that there was no disruption of the school system.

“For us at the National Assembly, we are always prepared to take every necessary step to intervene, to ensure that our tertiary institutions remain open and functional.

“At the end of the day, we don’t want our institutions closed because the repercussions are always much more on the students than on those who are supposed to deal with the issues.

“We are all in this together. We believe that Nigerian education sector, particularly at tertiary level, needs some serious support at this point,” Lawan said.

Before the meeting went into a closed door session, the Senate President said the next step in resolving the dispute, would be to find out from the officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance what they considered as the way out of the disagreement to avert any strike.

Lawan added that he was not comfortable that some agreements were signed in the past even when the government was aware that such deals could not be implemented.

On the issue of funding, the Senate President said “the truth is that, we can only do our best at this stage. We have serious financial challenges in terms of budgetary allocations.

“It is our duty as members of the National Assembly to ensure that any revenue due to the Federal government of Nigeria is captured and remitted properly so that when we have sufficient revenue, we can fund our educational sector better.

“We will work hard on this but I want to assure you that, in the legislature, you have a partner. We will work with you and ensure that we resolve this issue without recourse to any strike or closure of our institutions,” Lawan said.

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