Mixed reactions have continued to trail the Federal Government’s removal of tertiary institutions from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payment platform.
Recall that university-based unions had called on the government to remove university and of course tertiary institutions from the IPPIS platform as a result of the peculiarity of their duties.
While the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had come up with its payment platform, University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) developed a preferred joint payment platform by name, University Peculiar Personnel and Payroll System (U3PS).
Reacting to the removal of tertiary institutions from the IPPIS platform, the President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, said that though the union called for the stoppage of paying her members through IPPIS, the government should be clear on the issue and mention the new platform tertiary institutions would be paid with.
Speaking in his opening remarks at the 46th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union at the Federal University of Technology, FUT Minna in Niger State yesterday, Ibrahim urged the government to replace IPPIS with the U3PS, which he said had passed all the necessary integrity test.
He said, “We acknowledge the desire of this government and the approval to remove all tertiary institutions from the ‘almighty’ IPPIS. Yes, we faulted, yes we are not happy with IPPIS, and yes we are happy that there is going to be a departure from the past, but I am not one of those who jump to conclusions.
“I am not a pessimist, I am an optimist, an unrepentant one but I am also very strategic in my thinking and I critique anything that comes before me. So as I speak on behalf of this union, we thank the Federal Government for this quantum leap, but we also challenge the government to come out and tell us, we are leaving IPPIS, where are we going? How will the transition be, who will be in charge?
“You are all aware that we challenged the government as a union and we have preferred a solution that will replace IPPIS. We have gone through tests, we have gone through scrutiny and we have come out with flying colours government accepted that U3PS is the best payment platform for the university system.
*Proposes U3PS as replacement
“So, at this juncture, what we require the government to do is to ensure that IPPIS is replaced by U3PS, and if for any reason there is a need for a marriage of convenience from any other solution that will better the lot of the system we are amenable, we are positive and we are receptive.
“So what we need at this point is that government should be open, the government should be transparent, the government should be clear with where we are going to and who will be in charge of lives in terms of payment of our salaries, emoluments, and other benefits.
“This is what we will say at this point. We will wait to study the situation, we will talk when it is appropriate, and we laud and commend the government properly when we understand where we are and where we are going but we will oppose, we will criticise and we will reject any attempt to backslide us to where we will be stampeded. This is our position.”
He said apart from the issue of IPPIS, there were other pending issues like the N50 billion Earned Allowances which was approved and captured in the budget, the stoppage of the recently approved N35,000 wage award, and the 25 and 35 per cent salary increase.
He said, “NEC meetings are a platform where the union decides to take the destiny of its members into its own hands. We have pending issues with the government.
“From the approval of what was said to be released from our four months’ salary that has not seen the light of the day to the approval and capturing of N50bn for our Earned Allowances to the approval and capturing in the budget of 2023 that will end in the next few days of the stabilisation and fund that is meant to be injected in the system.
“These are things that we will charge the government that before the end of this year, miracles should happen, and the government should be on its feet to ensure that our members are paid the approved salaries.
“Also remember, this same government approved a wage award of N35,000, so far, only one month has been released. We are looking forward to the remaining ones and going forward. In the case of state government, it is only one or two states that I have been informed that so far decided to do the wage award.
“All the other governors have not done anything and our members working in state universities must not be short-changed, they must also be carried along, they should be paid this wage award.”(This Nigeria)
