ASUU has turned down the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which the federal government employs to compensate approximately 789,000 workers across various sectors. Notably, ASUU members are currently utilizing this platform.
Additionally, the union has dismissed the Government Integrated Financial Management and Information System (GIFMIS), which the federal government recently approved for ASUU's transition starting in November.
In a recent interview with reporters in Abuja, ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke stated that the union's position aligns with the autonomy of the country’s higher education institutions.
He noted that UTAS adheres to the legal requirement that university finances be overseen by their respective Governing Councils.
“ASUU’s position is that the finances of the university should be managed by the Governing Council. That’s what the law says. It does not say by the Accountant General’s office.
”Every year, the governing council directs the Vice Chancellor to defend its budget at the National Assembly.When the budget is approved including salary, remuneration, overhead, it will go to the President for assent and it becomes a law.
”That money should be released to the Governing council to pay its staff members. That is the autonomy of the university we are talking about, as stipulated in the law,” he said
Osodeke emphasized the necessity for universities to be granted autonomy in order to effectively manage the recruitment of their staff and determine salary payments.
He pointed out that the Union opposed the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) because its implementation undermines university autonomy, interferes with internal operations, and contravenes Section 24A of the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2003.
Additionally, Osodeke criticized the recent federal government guidelines outlining the exit process for Federal Tertiary Institutions (FTIs) from IPPIS.
In a circular dated October 8, the Accountant General of the Federation, Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, announced that the payroll for FTIs would continue to be processed through the IPPIS platform for October 2024.
She indicated that beginning in November, payrolls would be managed by the institutions themselves, subject to verification by the IPPIS department of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
Payments would be facilitated through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform.
However, Osodeke voiced his discontent with these directives, suggesting that the AGF was not being straightforward with the union.
“GIFMIS is still an appendage of IPPIS. When you look at the circular, paragraph two says after universities have finished preparation, it will still come to OAGF IPPIS, for verification before it is paid by GIFMIS, which means nothing has changed.
”As at now, no university knows who is being paid what. IPPIS has been paying people who have been sacked, people who are non staff members and people who have left the university system.
“The Vice Chancellors cannot discipline any erring official.Even when you are being disciplined, the IPPIS or GIFMIS will still be paying your salary and that is what we are saying,” he said.
Osodeke said the insinuation in certain quarters that ASUU was insisting on UTAS, its own developed solution, to shield lecturers teaching in more than one institution, was misconceived
According to him, the establishment Act of University permits lecturers to teach in two institutions, but with laid down guidelines.
“As stipulates by the law, a lecturers can serve as adjunct in another university, they can also work as part time in another university.
”They can serve as visiting professor in another university and this is the practice all over the world.
”For example, if you have a Professor who is highly knowledgeable in a particular field working in one university and another university has no one to handle such programme, what will they do?.
‘”That university will approach the other and appeal to the lecturer to come and teach their students on part time basis, which might be once or two times in a month.
”The institution is not expected to pay full salary to the lecturer, but allowances for the part time job.That is what it is. It is in the law and it is all over.
Osodeke further clarified that lecturers are permitted to take sabbaticals. This means that a lecturer who has been teaching for six years may apply for a one-year leave to teach at another university or institution.
He emphasized that this practice is not a recent change; however, there is a limitation in that a lecturer can only engage with a maximum of two universities during such a sabbatical. Teaching at more than two institutions would be considered a violation of regulations.
”It is a global standard and that is why we have visiting professors from London, Ghana, among others coming here to impact their knowledge.
”When you look at UTAS that we developed, any lecturer who has gone to sabbatical for more than the approved number, will be rejected automatically.
”Also, any lecturer who has not met the six years requirement for teaching and want to go on sabbatical leave would be rejected. All these have been built into the UTAS,” he said.
The ASUU President highlighted that the insufficient exchange of knowledge among lecturers across different institutions contributes to the low global rankings of Nigerian universities.
Osodeke also criticized the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for its assertion that UTAS had failed three integrity tests, calling it misleading.
He emphasized that UTAS is a reliable payment platform that effectively addresses the unique characteristics of the university system in Nigeria.
Osodeke pointed out that a previous integrity test conducted by NITDA had awarded UTAS a score of 97.3 percent, only for the agency to later retract that assessment.
He noted that in the evaluations carried out by NITDA, IPPIS ranked significantly lower than UTAS, raising questions about the government's continued preference for IPPIS.
Furthermore, Osodeke confirmed that ASUU's intention to strike regarding the payment platform and other matters remains in effect, although the union has allowed the government time to finalize the newly established renegotiation committee.