The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed dissatisfaction with the federal government’s failure to implement its promise to remove tertiary institutions from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, had alleged.
Osodeke revealed in an interview that lecturers’ salaries are still being paid through IPPIS, despite the government’s announcement in December 2023 of their exemption from the platform.
The IPPIS, established in 2006, was initially introduced to streamline payroll processes for government ministries, departments, and agencies.
However, it was extended to universities and colleges, leading to strong opposition from civil servants and government workers.
This resulted in prolonged strikes in 2020 and 2021, with ASUU citing numerous irregularities associated with IPPIS.
According to Osodeke, none of ASUU’s demands have been fulfilled.
In September 2023, the government announced a 35% salary increase for tertiary institution workers, retroactive to January 2023. It also promised to pay four months’ salaries out of the seven and a half months withheld during the 2022 national strike.
In addition, ASUU has called for the payment of Earned Academic Allowance and the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, both of which have been major sources of contention in past strikes.
Despite these assurances, there has been no official response from the government, a situation that has left ASUU members worrying over their fate.
Asked about the possibility of another strike, Osodeke emphasised, “Our member will decide, that is the reason we have been going on strike, even for salary review, yet, nothing has been done. Our February salary was paid with IPPIS, so nothing has been done or implemented. The government should do the needful and implement all the agreements they had with us.”
Osodeke stressed that the government must fulfil its commitments and implement the agreements reached with the union. Until then, the fate of lecturers’ salaries and the resolution of other outstanding issues remain uncertain.
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