IPPIS: What The Accountant General Never Told The Public On ASUU Demands, By Ado Umar Lalu

If there is anything frequently attracting the attentions of the general public is the IPPIS enrollment of Federal Governments’ workers into the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System popularly called IPPIS which ASUU resisted and demand for adjustments to accommodate the peculiarities and flexibility in the university.
The amended laws of the universities fixed the retirements age of those on professorial cadres at seventy (70) years and sixty five (65) for those below the Professorial Cadres and non-teaching staffs. The bonds of contention here is that IPPIS accommodated staffs of below sixty (60) years only in it’s platform. ASUU raised an observations that without adjustments of the 60 years age bracket all it’s members that are 60 years and above will not be captured and recognized. By implications they will be without salaries or be retired by the system like other civil servants.
Another areas of contention are the issues of sabbatical and visitation which are parts of university systems that allowed staff to go on sabbatical leave and visitations to other universities. The rule is that during sabbatical leave the affected staffs will be paid by their employers as well as the receiving universities and the IPPIS do not recognized double payments which ASUU demanded for adjustments to accommodate it.
In the same manner university rules recognized visitations to other universities. Lecturers on visitations received payments from their employers as well as the universities visited. Without adjustments of IPPIS platform on visitations it’s implications is that it will bring an end to these established and standing university practices recognized all over the world.
The AGF issued a circular to ASUU to negotiate on the contentious observations raised by ASUU. While the negotiations are ongoing a circular came completely negating the earlier one without addressing the issues at stakes.
To me these adjustments should not be allowed to degenerates to this level, in fact is an opportunity to fish out lecturers that go on visitations beyond the limits permitted by the universities rules.
The issues of sabbatical leave and visitations were means of facilitating exchange of ideas among the scholars that will bridge gaps of knowledge that is mutually beneficial to both university of origin and the receiving university.
As one of the strong supporter of this government that do not need any introduction among the BUHARISTS at the sametime ASUU member I remains silent on almost all the problems this government had with ASUU, but I think is a right time for me to break my silence.
The first problem arises as a result of payments of outstanding Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), which the government promised to pay in October 2018 and February 2019, but as ta now only 1/3 of it was paid and the remaining 2/3 are still pending. When the government made this promised, I had private discussions with one of the opponents of this government who told me despite his stand on PMB he believes in what the President assured.
After EAA the issues of Treasury Single Account (TSA) came with another round of allegations that ASUU is against the TSA and portrays ASUU as part of university management that benefits from financial mismanagement of university funds which is not correct. Unfortunately up to today there are confused members of the general public who agreed with the campaign against ASUU that ASUU and university management are one and the same.
Here come also the issues of IPPIS with another round of accusations that it opposed the enrollment of it’s members on IPPIS. In one of the meetings attended by DVC of University of Jos who is also an ICT expert, he drew the attentions of the Federal Government Delegations on the need to make necessary adjustments to accommodate the peculiarities and flexibility of university system which will not take much of their times to adjusts.
To me for the sake of industrial harmony the Federal Government Delegations instead of resorting to baseless accusations let them be bold enough to tell the general public what actually ASUU demanded not total condemnation that ASUU is against IPPIS without given it fair hearing. As it stand now based on the private discussions I had with different persons they concludes that ASUU was wrong without demanding for detailed explanations from the AGF and the Federal Government Delegations.
I spent considerable time in university as student and staff for above twenty five ((25) years and have seen many ASUU struggles from the regime of late General Sani Abacha, but no administration enjoys good will and supports of ASUU like this administration of President Muhammadu Buhari due to his track records while serving the government on different capacities. But those working with him eroded that good will due to the way and manner they approached ASUU’s issues with hidden agendas and motives.
Yours in Struggles
Ado Umar Lalu writes from Daura