IPPIS: You can’t stop lecturers’ salaries, ASUU dares FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said its position on the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System has not changed since its last meeting with the National Assembly.

The ASUU National President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, said in an interview on Thursday that the Senate and the university lecturers agreed to maintain the status quo, pending when the union would come up with an “alternative that will be juxtaposed with what government is presenting.”

Ogunyemi added that while the union hoped to have a follow-up meeting with the leadership of Senate, it is expected that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation would keep to the status quo.

The ASUU President said, “We have not changed our position. Our discussion with the National Assembly, particularly Senate, is that we should come up with an alternative that will be juxtaposed with what government is presenting.

“As we have said, we are working on the alternative that we proposed and we hope to have a follow-up meeting with the leadership of Senate.

“They have told us that the status quo should remain and we expect the ministry or the Accountant-General’s Office to also keep to that position.

“If they are saying they want to stop our people’s salaries, we will process it and respond appropriately.

“We have our own mechanism for handling that. It is not for the media.”

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had, during the 2020 budget presentation at the National Assembly on October 8, ordered the stoppage of payment of salaries of civil servants, who failed to register for the IPPIS by the end of October.

But ASUU had long opposed the system, saying it negated the policy on university autonomy. It also met with the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, in a bid to persuade the Federal Government to exempt universities from the payroll.