ASUU insists on rejection of payroll

TRACKING____The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday declared that it would resist the deployment of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in the university system despite the withholding of the third party deductions to the academic body and cooperative societies, as well as stoppage of members’ salary by the Federal Government.

It urged Nigerians to take cognisance of the fact that the Federal Government withholding of the union’s and cooperatives’ deductions took effect in January, while the government’s threat to stop their salary was effected last month.

Addressing reporters at the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, the Coordinator of the Lagos Zone of ASUU comprising public universities in Lagos and Ogun states, Olusiji Sowande, said the desperate efforts of the government to forcefully drag members into IPPIS is a violation of the law establishing the universities.

“The public should please be informed that the third party deductions to cooperative societies and our union were withheld in January and the government’s threat to stop the salary of our members has been effected from February.

“These actions will not deter us from our patriotic resistance to the deployment of IPPIS in universities,” he said.

Sowande lamented that the Federal Government’s continued breach of trust in keeping with the time lines for implementation of outstanding issues in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and Memorandum of Actions(MoAs), as well as the IPPIS matter, had compelled the union to embark on two weeks warning strike.

The Lagos Zone coordinator, who spoke in the presence of ASUU chairmen from the zone, noted that the government had reneged on its promise to implement the aspect of funding for the revitalisation of public universities, non-constitution of visitation panels for federal universities, non-payment of outstanding Earned Academic Allowances(EAA) among others.

He said that the recent bitter experience of people that were coerced to enrol into IPPIS platform, following alleged flaws and fraud observed in the system, with people being shortchanged in salary payment, further supported ASUU’S resistance to IPPIS.