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IPPIS: ASUU mobilises members for strike over AGF’s threat

* Says ‘We are ready for them, we’re not slaves’

Helen Williams

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to embark on strike, if Nigeria’s Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) actualises his threat to stop payment of lecturers’ salaries for January 2020.

The Union claimed the Federal Government had noted that it would stop the salaries of the lecturers for failing to enrol for the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPIS).

Vanguard reports ASUU related that a circular from the office of the AGF sent to all public universities recently, contained information to withhold January salaries of University lecturers who refused to enrol in the IPPIS platform.

Nonetheless, ASUU stated that its Congress members had resolved to activate ‘No Pay No Work’ as soon as the government stops its members’ salaries.

Prof. Deji Omole, Chairman, University of Ibadan (UI) Chapter of ASUU, reacting to the development Sunday, January 26, in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, maintained that it was ready to pursue her stand on autonomy and infringement on FGN-ASUU Agreement which IPPIS would erode.

Prof. Omole stated it was unfortunate that even the President could not be trusted after assuring the Union to look into the matter and set-up committee to harmonise UTAS and IPPIS tabled before him at the last meeting.

H maintains ASUU would not be threatened to allow alleged “undemocratic public servant like Accountant-General of the Federation to ridicule tertiary education in the country.

The Union leader said the move would throw public Universities into another crisis.

ASUU rejected IPPIS on point of law, principle and rule of law, but has offered an alternative platform which has been named University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (UTAS), which would take care of university peculiarities, he opined.

If those ruling us are sincere, they should ask their sons and daughters who school in Universities in the UK how Universities run, he retorted.

Omole added: “Only patriots can work in our hellish condition. Our position is that the principles of IPPIS are in contradiction to the principles of the autonomy of the University system.

“And the constitution is clear enough because each university has its legal pattern and it doesn’t have provision for IPPIS and it does not even capture the peculiarities of the university system.

“We are ready for them. We are not slaves that can be subjected to routine humiliation by government appointees.”

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