Lecturers set to resist Nigerian govt’s plan to implement IPPIS in universities; what is ASUU really afraid of?

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Sunday vowed to resist any attempt by the Federal Government to impose the Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS) on the university lecturers in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari had directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), including universities, drawing their personnel cost from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to enroll in the IPPIS.

The President also demonstrated his determination to enforce the system by issuing a directive that any federal government worker not captured on the IPPIS by October 31 would not be paid his monthly salary.

According to him, the introduction of the system was part of his administration’s efforts at managing personnel costs in line with its anti-graft crusade.

To counter the president’s directive, ASUU had summoned an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting where they resolved that the leadership of the union at university levels should begin mobilisation of members across the country for effective action on the matter.

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The Chairman, University of Ibadan Chapter of ASUU, Prof. Deji Omole, told journalists at a briefing on Sunday that the union was not against accountability but would resist the attempt by the government to violate existing laws and autonomy of the university.

He said ASUU has offered to help the federal government design the appropriate template that would take into consideration the peculiarities of university lecturers in the IPPIS, adding that the government is determined to foist the “world-bank designed exploitative template” on the university teachers.

He said: “The template designed by government plans to enslave intellectuals as it does not make provisions for payment of arrears of promotion, study leave allowance, and responsibility allowance among others.

“The Federal Government template was designed to phase out university lecturers who are above 60 years which is against the new policy where professors retire at 70 years.

“The present administration has consistently demonstrated his hatred for public-funded universities by introducing many illegal policies that negatively affected the smooth running of the universities.

“Forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers is a violation of the university autonomy act. It is therefore illegal. While ASUU is not against the accountability on the part of the university administrators government should not be allowed to destroy public universities in its purported claims of fighting corruption. Our members should remain focused and committed in our struggles to protect public university education by resisting the forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers.”

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