Again, ASUU members kick against IPPIS, vow to protect university autonomy with their blood

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has once again kicked against the imposition of the controversial IPPIS and has thus vowed to protect university autonomy with the last drop of their blood.

The vow was made in a statement issued on Friday by the National President of ASUU, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, during a press statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Titled “On President Buhari’s No IPPIS, No Salary”, the statement revealed that on January 9, 2020, they reached an understanding with President Muhammadu Buhari, to develop the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

According to ASUU, the proposed implementation of UTAS would be sensitive to the operations of the university system, accommodate peculiarities and respect autonomy but the government chose to impose IPPIS which the union said was meant for civil servants and not university lecturers.

READ ALSO: ‘You have a shallow understanding of academic profession,’ ASUU replies minister

Ogunyemi also claimed ASUU has spent millions of naira to develop the UTAS, which has been presented to the Federal Ministry of Education.

“We are aware of the antics of bureaucrats, especially in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, aimed at bringing universities under their control. ASUU will not fold its arms and watch the gains we made on the autonomy of Nigerian universities slip by.

“It took us several years of continuous struggle during the military to get here. So, let nobody hide under the name of President Muhammadu Buhari to attack the autonomy of public universities because Nigerian scholars are prepared to resist it to the last drop of their blood,” the statement by ASUU read in part.

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