Politics

ASUU accuses federal government of coating its members to enroll on IPPIS.

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Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the federal government of using the instrument of hunger to coarse its members to accept the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Nsukka Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Dr. Igbana Ajir, who stated this during a press conference held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital on Friday disclosed that some members of the Union have not been paid their salaries for between five to nine months now.

He noted that the IPPIS which compels all staff in federal universities in Nigeria to enroll and be paid centrally both violates the autonomy of universities and contradicts the superiority of the Governing Councils in the control and management of university funds, employment, discipline and promotion of staff.

The Coordinator wondered why the federal government is refusing to adopt the University Accountability Solution (UTAS) which the union developed
as a replacement for IPPIS.

While noting that ASUU spent over N30 million to develop UTAS at no cost to the federal government, Igbana maintained that the excuse that the UTAS platform must be presented to National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) before certification for adoption and usage without a timeline is a ploy to delay and frustrate the efforts of the union.

He pointed out what he described as the apparent deficiencies inherent in, and the widely reported fraud being perpetrated by operators of IPPIS within and outside the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF).

“ASUU has pointed out apparent deficiencies inherent in and the widely reported fraud being perpetrated by operators of IPPIS within and outside the Auditor General of the Federation’s (AGF) office.

“The National Assembly has equally acknowledged the monumental fraud in IPPIS when the AGF appeared before its Public Accounts Committee and could not defend the auditors’ query. However, government, through it’s agents, remains adamant on compelling ASUU members to enroll on IPPIS.”

Igbana observed that the current industrial dispute in the educational system was potentially preventable and had become unnecessarily prolonged.

“We therefore call on all well meaning Nigerians including the Press, labour leaders, civil society organizations, parents and students to prevail on Government to shelve the obnoxious and non functional programmes.

“In its stead, UTAS should be certified and domesticated for the Nigerian University System. Our Union believes that government should fulfil the items in the MoA that they willingly entered into with us in 2019 in order to restore the future of our students and protect the future of Nigeria,” ASUU concluded.

Politics

FG accuses ASUU of being responsible for #EndSARS protests, civil unrest

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The Federal Government on Thursday accused the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of being responsible for the on-going #EndSARS protest and other civil unrest across the country, saying that its prolong industrial action has largely encouraged the protest and unrest.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, made the allegation against the university lecturers while speaking at the conciliatory meeting between the Federal Government and ASUU in Abuja.

The Labour minister as the head of Federal Government delegation, led the meeting, while ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, led the Union delegation.

Ngige believes that if ASUU has not been on strike and the university students are currently in schools, the widespread protest wouldn’t have been possible.

Notwithstanding, the minister pointed out that the government was working tirelessly to ensure that the matter is resolve for students to return to school.

On the University Transparency and Accountability System(UTAS), which is the alternative provided by the union after rejecting the government’s IPPIS, Ngige explained that government has done the first test out of the three to be done on the platform.

He stated that ASUU has presented UTAS platform against the use of Integrated Personal and Payroll System (IPPIS) which has being the caused of the industrial action.

According to the minister: “For the past one week, we have all been on our toes, we have been meeting and we pray that this meeting will yield some good fruits. We don’t take very great pleasure to the fact that the children who are supposed to be in school are being recruited into the #EndSARS, #EndStrike, #EndSWAT and all the kind of situations. As much as possible, we will try to see how we can meet ourselves halfway, so that we can resolve this crisis to the benefits of all and the country at large.”

Ngige pointed out that the government has commenced the process of testing UTAS which ASUU members claimed it accommodates the peculiarities of the university systems, adding that all the three stages of the test will be concluded within the time frame the union gave the government.

He said: “We have had the preliminary report and test run on the UTAS, which is the University Transparency Accountability Solution. We believe that with that, we will be able to get it right.

“Let me make it clear to members of the press, we never said UTAS will replace IPPIS as some of you are reporting. No! The UTAS developed by them is for the university systems and they feel that it captures the peculiarities that are configured to accommodate all the peculiarities of the university systems especially as it affects the Professors and other teaching staff, and even the non-academic staff. That is the situation.

“We, as government feel we are going to put it up for tests – three stages of test. We have done the first stage of test which is within the timeline of six months that ASUU promised. We are going to do other integrity test, Alpha test, Beta test and the one they call roll-over and other whatever test. It is the technologists that know all those tests. But this is the round we are going on now.”

Politics

Workers who aren’t registered under IPPIS will not be paid- President Buhari

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ONLY federal workers registered on the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform would continue to get salaries, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

Buhari said this during the presentation of the N13.03 trillion 2021 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday.

The President said any worker not captured on the payroll would be treated as a ghost worker.

But the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has vowed never to key into the IPPIS platform as demanded by the Federal Government, said the President’s remarks had nothing to do with its members.

ASUU President Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, who reacted to the remark yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari was not referring to its members in his budget speech.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Prof Ogunyemi said: “The President didn’t say ASUU members. He said he didn’t want to pay money to non-existent personnel and he (president) said employees of federal government. That doesn’t translate to ASUU.

“As far as ASUU is concerned, we have met with Mr. President, we have reached an understanding that we should develop the alternative to IPPIS that will respect the autonomy of universities. That is what we have done and which we have presented to the Federal Ministry of Education about two months ago.”

“What is left for government to do is to continue with the integrity test that they promised to conduct before they accept the alternative which is the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

ASUU

“We don’t believe that ASUU falls into the category of non-existent workers. We don’t believe that ASUU works at the MDAs that Mr. President talked about.

“IPPIS is meant for the civil servants and that we know they are faithfully applying. So if that is going on in the MDAs, we believe the universities should be insulated from civil service rules because universities have their own establishment Acts which are vested with the management of personnel and payroll system in the hands of the university Governing Councils. That is what we have been challenging all along.”

Lifestyle

FG Urges ASUU Members To Consider Farming As Alternative Profession

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The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has urged members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to leave the teaching profession and consider going into farming, stressing that more farmers are needed in the country.

Also, in preparation for the reopening of schools, Nwajuiba said some of the modalities that have been put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 will include afternoon classes in order to prevent overcrowding.

Nwajuiba who was a guest on ARISE NEWS Channel in Abuja yesterday, reiterated that all schools must enforce the COVID-19 protocols.

He said: “Some people may not believe what we are doing but we must continue to enforce that. You must continue to abide by the protocol. You must provide them. We don’t really care about how much inconvenience or how convenient you think it is for your child to wear facemask. Obey the rules first. If we find out you’re not following those rules, we will have to deal with somebody.”

On the protracted strike by the ASUU, the minister who recalled that the union did not embark on the strike on the basis of the pandemic, said the university lecturers might consider farming, insisting that more farmers are needed in the nation.

He said the federal government has shown commitment to their demands.

Acknowledging that the union has the right to express itself and make demands, the minister noted that up till July 2020, all academic staff had been paid salaries.

“ASUU is within its rights as a union of lecturers. We didn’t start a strike with ASUU on the basis of COVID-19. ASUU was already on strike way before COVID-19. Just before COVID-19 will shut down schools, they gave an indefinite strike. We are not in any contention with them.

“Government is actually not holding anyone to ransom. It says this is how I want to pay and it has to be through IPPIS. You can leave the employment. You can opt out of it and say ‘I no longer want to teach’. You can find other professions. What we need now are probably more farmers.

“You cannot keep forcing your employer and tell him, ‘I will like you to pay me my money through my pillow. Or, I will like you to pay it through this mailbox’. ASUU has a lot of complaints and dissipation around it. That is legitimate but doesn’t mean you should force yourself on the man who has the money.”

Politics

President Muhammadu Buhari will not succumb to threats and undue pressure. – Presidency

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According to the presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari will not “succumb to threats and undue pressure” , being mounted by advocates of restructuring the country.

The Presidency, in a statement, criticised “the recurring threats to the corporate existence of the country with factions giving specific timelines for the President to to do one thing or another or else, in their language, “the nation will break up.”

The statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu, added:

“This is to warn that such unpatriotic outbursts are both unhelpful and unwarranted as this government will not succumb to threats and take any decision out of pressure at a time when the nation’s full attention is needed to deal with the security challenges facing it at a time of the COVID-19 health crisis.”

“This administration will not take any decision against the interests of 200 million Nigerians, who are the President’s first responsibility under the constitution, out of fear or threats especially in this hour of health crisis.”

He further stated that;

“The President as an elected leader under this constitution will continue to work with patriotic Nigerians, through and in line with the Parliamentary processes to finding solutions to structural and other impediments to the growth and wellbeing of the nation and its people.”

In another statement, the Presidency said those condemning the organised Labour for reasoning with the government by suspending a planned nationwide strike last week are enemies of the country.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), after rounds of negotiations with the federal government, suspended the industrial action slated to commence on September 28.

The decision was criticised by varying groups, with some suggesting that the decision was a betrayal.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, noted that the attack on the Labour unions was borne out of pain for “traducers of the Administration”, having failed to achieve an alleged plan to use the strike to score political and electoral gains.

The statement said:

“Since Organized Labour toed the path of sense and sensibility last week, seeing reason with the imperatives of fuel price adjustment, and opening a further window of dialogue on the service based electricity tariff, some groups of Nigerians have been dolorous, disgruntled, and disconsolate.

“They had apparently perfected plans to use the strike by the labour unions as smokescreen to unleash anarchy on the land, fomenting mayhem and civil disobedience. But the plan blew up in their faces, and they have been in severe pains since then. They have launched series of tirades against Organized Labour.”

“For some interest groups, their intention was to use the umbrella of the strike to further their whimsical and pie-in-the-sky dream of a revolution in the country. It went bust in their faces.”

“For some others, Bitter-Enders, who have remained entrenched in pre-2015 and 2019 elections mode, it was opportunity to avenge the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests, which they believe largely devalued the government of the day, and led to its eventual ouster in 2015.”

“The strike that was to have come up last week, they wanted to use as opportunity for a pound of flesh, which they calculated would weaken the government so much, and influence the 2023 elections.”

“For them, it was all about hanker for power, its trappings and appurtenances. Nothing about love of country. They have since then been calling Organized Labour all sorts of names, claiming they deceived Nigerians.”

“The times in which we live-with severe security, economic and social challenges-call for all hands to be on deck, and goodwill and support for government, as it strives to put the nation on an even keel. We commend Organized Labour for putting the country first.”

“Those sponsoring and encouraging discord and anarchy, either for selfish ends, or as revenge for perceived injuries, are enemies of the country. Nigerians are urged to beware of them, as the Muhammadu Buhari government is only interested in engendering better quality of life for the citizenry. Nothing more.”

Politics, World News

ASUU VS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

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The Federal Government says the issue of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would soon be resolved.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Ngige said the Ministries of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation will meet with the body.

“The issue of ASUU will soon come to an end,” he said. “Two reasons – ASUU have called the Federal Government represented by Finance and the Accountant-General Office and their direct employers, the Ministry of Education to come for the test.”

Ngige’s remarks come three days after ASUU said it had not called off its nationwide industrial action which started in March.

According to ASUU Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the strike is still in force until the Federal Government meets their demands.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige

Also, President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had vowed that the union would sustain its ongoing strike action until its requirements were met.

Ogunyemi said ASUU was asking the Federal Government to implement the 2012 universities’ needs assessment.

The ASUU leader had during a press conference on March 23, announced the nationwide strike, adding that the union rejected the use of force to enrol on Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

The National Universities Commission ordered universities across the country to close for a month, beginning from March 23, due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

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