•Union to generate own platform
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday said its members will not turn up for registration into the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) announced by the Federal Government.
The government had announced on Wednesday that it will begin enrolment of lecturers into IPPIS next week.
Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris, in an advertorial, said university teachers will be captured on the payroll system between November 25 and December 7.
ASUU National President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, in an interview yesterday in Abuja, insisted that no lecture will enrol into the payroll system.
The union leader said ASUU had proposed an alternative payroll system for lectures, adding that the alternative would be comparable to Federal Government’s proposed IPPIS.
He said university lecturers would have a follow-up meeting with the leadership of Senate to discuss the alternative they are proposing to the government.
According to him, the leadership of the Senate has asked the union to maintain “status quo”, following threat of a strike in October.
Ogunyemi said the government was expected to do same.
He said: “We have not changed our position. Our discussion with the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is that we should come up with an alternative that will be juxtaposed with what government is presenting.
“As we have said, our alternative is in the works. We are working on the alternative that we proposed and we hope to have a follow-up meeting with the leadership of the 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 salary, we will process it and respond appropriately.”
Asked what will happen to ASUU members who will show up for enrolment on Monday, the ASUU President said: “We are processing it, as I said, and we will respond appropriately.
“We have our own mechanism for handling that. It is not for the media.”
