The crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government over the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) may not end soon as the leadership of the union Sunday directed its members to disregard the purported circular from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to enroll in the scheme from Monday.
ASUU stated that the same Accountant General of the Federation had challenged the union to develop a template that accommodates the peculiarities of academic staff and present same to it.
The Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of ASUU, Prof. Deji Omole, in a statement, said members should not submit themselves to be enrolled into what he described as the slave plan of the Accountant General.
He disclosed that the union’s leadership was still in discussion with the federal government and helping it to develop more robust template, stating that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, as an academic understands the peculiarities of the university system and had benefitted immensely from the peculiarities.
Omole said no ASUU member should appear before the Accountant General team until further directive from the union, noting that while ASUU supports the fight against corruption, it will resist any attempt by the government to trample on existing University Autonomy Act.
He urged members of the union to remain steadfast and stand firm to protect public universities by not filling any form or submit their bio-data for enrollment into the IPPIS.
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation through a newspaper advertisement had said it will dispatch her staff to universities from November 25, 2019 for enrollment of staff into the IPPIS.
But ASUU has described the scheme as a scam and offered to design a template that will accommodate university peculiarities, stating that it is not opposed to IPPIS but that the current template will undermine the uniqueness of university academic and its autonomy.
The release read in part: “This is to remind you that the union’s position on IPPIS has not changed. Pending the resolution of the matter evidence, of which shall be communicated to all members of our union, no member of the union is to enlist on the platform.
“NEC position on the matter has not been reviewed, therefore NO ASUU MEMBER IS TO FILL THE FORM or submit their bio-data before any team. We are not slaves that can be subjected to routine humiliation from the office of the accountant general. No nation has ever developed or survived through the humiliation of her intellectuals. United we bargain, divided we beg.”
