By Emeka Samuel, Uyo
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Calabar zone, on Sunday rejected the use o the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS in the payment of salaries and entitlements for staff of Universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.
It has also said that IPPIS remained alien and constitute an illegality in the university context.
It said the insistence by the Accountant General of the Federation, OAGF to foist the IPPIS on federal universities was a violation of the law of the lands, adding that there is no worse case of corruption than breaking the laws.
Addressing newsmen on the raging issue in Uyo, the capital, the Coordinator of the Calabar zone of ASUU and Senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of Uyo, Dr, Aniekan Brown, accused OAGF of attempt to plunge the University system into unavoidable confusion adding that ASUU would do all within the its power to resist
the move.
“The attempt by the OAGF to foist the IPPIS on federal Universities is a fragrant negation and violation of the laws of the land. The University is the bedrock of freedom in scholarship and research, and academics guard it jealously.
“Apart from the danger that IPPIS portends to the University system, ASUU is poised not to aid the OAGF to violate the laws of the land. ASUU has no doubt that law abiding Nigerians will support and stand by ASUU in this struggle.
“The university system is peculiar in it modus operandi. The mode of employment, retirement ages, sabbatical leave, adjunct, part time, contract, engagement etc are concepts that are unique to the University and obviously incompatible with the IPPIS.
“OAGF has been economical with the whole truth about addressing these peculiarities. In spite of obvious shortcomings of this system of payment, the OAGF is bent on plunging the University system into avoidable confusion.
“The callous propaganda making the rounds in the conventional and social media is that ASUU is aiding corruption in the universities.The history and struggles of ASUU are dotted with anti-corruption stance.
“IPPIS is an illegality in the context of the of our University
system. For avoidable of doubt, there is no worse case of corruption than breaking or circumventing the law and as torch-bearer of the Nigeria’s intellectual conscience, ASUU is committed to compelling the federal government to be law abiding”. Dr Brown said.
He expressed disappointment that rather than addressing glaring issues of payment of outstanding arrears and mainstreaming of Earned Allowances, release of visitation panel reports which constitute a threat to industrial harmony, the OAGF has constituted itself a willing tool for distracting the positive march to achieving a better
university system.
He said the inability of the OAGF to foist the IPPIS on organisations such as the NNPC, FIRS,NJC,CBN raised a question mark on the said fight against corruption.
President Mohammadu Buhari, had while presenting the 2020 budget to the National Assembly directed that any government worker not captured in the IPPIS by October 31st would not be paid his salary.
He said the move was part of the federal government’s effort aimed at managing personnel cost in line with it fight against corruption.
“I have directed the stoppage of salary of any federal Government staff that is not captured on the IPPIS platform by the end of October, 2019.” Buhari had said
