The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised concerns that the Federal Government continues to utilize the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for the payment of lecturers’ salaries. Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the National President of ASUU, expressed disappointment in an interview, stating that the government has not fulfilled its promise to remove tertiary institutions from the IPPIS platform, and the February salary was paid through IPPIS.
In December 2023, the Federal Government had announced the exemption of tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, from the IPPIS platform. The IPPIS, introduced in 2006, aimed to streamline payroll processes for government ministries, departments, and agencies but faced resistance from university workers who cited irregularities and embarked on a protracted strike in 2020 and 2021.
Osodeke emphasized that none of ASUU’s demands had been met, despite the government’s announcement in September 2023 of a 35% upward review of salaries for tertiary institution workers, backdated to January 2023. The government also pledged to pay four months’ salaries out of the seven and a half months withheld during the 2022 national strike. Outstanding issues such as the payment of Earned Academic Allowance and the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement have contributed to recurring strikes in government-owned universities.
As of now, there has been no official communication from the Federal Government, leaving the situation in a state of limbo. Osodeke indicated that ASUU would communicate its decision through a press release, and whether a strike would be initiated to address their demands would be determined by the union’s members. Osodeke urged the government to fulfill its commitments and implement the agreements reached with ASUU.
