TheNewsGuru

Tag: IPPIS

  • SSANU may resort to indefinite strike, if… – Chairman

    SSANU may resort to indefinite strike, if… – Chairman

    The ongoing nationwide warning strike by Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) would degenerate to an indefinite one unless Federal Government implemented the agreement it signed with the union.

    Mr Taiwo Arobadi, Chairman, SSANU, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) branch, made this known in an interview with NAN on Monday in Ile-Ife.

    “If the FG does the needful within the two weeks warning strike, we would go back to our offices and work immediately, but failure to comply would lead to indefinite strike,” he said.

    He said that the ongoing two weeks warning strike was to press for the payment of their entitlements by the federal government.

    Arobadi said that Federal Government had in Oct 2020 and Feb 2021 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Action (MoA), respectively, with the association without implementing them till date.

    The Chairman explained that hazard allowance, responsibility allowance and some other issues, which its members were agitating for, we’re agreed to in the MoA allowance.

    Arobadi said that SSANU also re-negotiated the 2009 agreement during which they rejected the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) introduced by the government.

    He noted that accepting IPPIS would have adverse effect on all federal universities’ staff salary because it would culminate in their being underpaid.

    According to him, by implication, IPPIS would for instance be paying N45,000 to staff who are earning N70,000 monthly.

    The chairman urged the federal government to refer them back to their former payer or other option which SSANU introduced to government for the payment of their salaries.

    He, therefore, appealed to the federal government to release some funds for the revitalisation of all universities, “in order for the children of the masses to have hope in Nigeria’s educational sector”.

  • ASUU strike: FG reacts to 2 months extension

    ASUU strike: FG reacts to 2 months extension

    As the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU ) rolls over its strike action to two months, the Federal Government has reacted to this extension saying it has met all the demands of the union.

    The Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba reacted to the declaration of the roll over in an interview with newsmen at the end of the commemoration of the 2022 Commonwealth Celebration in Abuja on Monday.

    Nwajiuba, who insisted that the federal government had met all of the demands of the union, added that all earned allowances as well as revitalisation funds had been released.

    “ASUU announced and we met and everything that they have demanded, we have done all of them including the earned allowances and the revitalisation fund; they choose to extend it for two months may be,” he said.

    It would be recalled that the universities union after the expiration of its initial one month strike on March 14, declared a roll over strike for another two months beginning.

    The strike, according to the union, was due to the failure of the government to implement the agreement the federal government signed with the union in 2009.

    ASUU had also accused the federal government of working against the deployment of the UTAS, a payment platform designed by ASUU in lieu of the IPPIS payment system.

  • ASUU denies failure of UTAS integrity test

    ASUU denies failure of UTAS integrity test

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has denied alleged failure of the integrity test on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

    ASUU President, Mr Emmauel Osodeke, said this in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.

    Osodeke was reacting to recent statements credited to both the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and Director-General, NITDA that UTAS had failed the integrity test.

    “This press statement is necessitated by the need for ASUU to put the records straight on the grounds already covered in our patriotic struggle to get the government to deploy UTAS as a suitable solution for salary payment in our university system.

    “Let us put it on record that an integrity test was carried out by NITDA on Aug. 10, 2021 in NUC where relevant government agencies and all the end-users in the University system were present.

    “At the end of the exercise, all, without exception, expressed satisfaction with UTAS as a suitable solution for salary payment in our universities.

    “This was attested to by the report coming from NITDA then to the effect that UTAS scored 85 per cent in User Acceptance Test (UAT), ‘’he said.

    According to him, in a curious twist of submission, the NITDA Technical Team, after conducting a comprehensive functionality test came out to say that out of 687 test cases, 529 cases were satisfactory, 156 cases queried and 2 cases cautioned.

    He added that taking this report on its face value, the percentage score was 77 per cent.

    “The question that arises from this is: Can 77 per cent in any known fair evaluation system be categorized as failure?

    “Suffice it to say here that some observations and questions were raised by NITDA to which UTAS technical team has to provide clarification. As we speak, our engagement with NITDA over the second round of testing continues.

    “The union is worried that while this exercise is going on, the Minister and the DG, NITDA went to press after FEC meeting of Wednesday, 9 March, 2022, to mislead the nation that UTAS has failed the integrity test.

    “We wish to draw your attention to the fact that NITDA gave a report to the fact that NITDA gave the report that UTAS did well in both the integrity test and user acceptability verification.

    “Clearly, 85 per cent and 77 per cent are high class grades in any known evaluation system.

    “In their desperation to justify their false assertions, they threw up issues such as Data centre and hosting of UTAS software which are clearly outside the rubrics of ASUU’s responsibilities in the deployment of UTAS, ’’he said.

    Osodeke said that ASUU and NITDA were still engaged in the testing process and that it was pertinent to note that one of the core mandates of NITDA is to encourage local content development.

    He, therefore, said that NITDA had to discharge its responsibility to ensure that the solution developed by Nigerian academics was deployed

    He added that, in doing so, the principles of transparency should be adhered to by making available to the public the set of criteria or benchmarks for certification of information technology application in the country.

    He also appealed to the DG, NITDA to stop making comments capable of jeopardising the joint on-going testing of UTAS between the NITDA Technical Team and its counterparts.

    “However, if this behaviour continues, we will have no choice but to demand that the NITDA Technical Report on UTAS and our Union’s response be made public in order to shed more light on the ongoing controversies without further waste of time.

    “The DG, NITDA and the minister superintending the agency are challenged to a public discussion on any national media to put all matters to rest for the benefit of our students, union members, and the Nigerian public in general,’’he said.

    He added that on the ongoing strike, the union had been having engagements with the government over the contending issues that necessitated it in the first place.

    The union had embarked on a nationwide warning strike to press home its members’ demands beginning from Feb.14 .

    The lecturers’ demands include funding of the Revitalisation of Public Universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.

    Others are: the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

  • Strike: We did not approve UTAS, it failed integrity test – NITDA tells ASUU

    Strike: We did not approve UTAS, it failed integrity test – NITDA tells ASUU

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said the Universities Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) presented by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for the payment of lecturers in the country failed its integrity test.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa made this known when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the end of a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

    Recall that ASUU had in December 2021 celebrated the supposed endorsement and approval of UTAS by NITDA after its president, Emmanuel Osodeke revealed the payment platform was approved by the federal government agency.

    “NEC is pleased that the end-user evaluation report overwhelmingly endorses UTAS for immediate deployment by the government for Nigerian universities. On our part, ASUU is fully prepared to address all the technical observations made by NITDA in order to make this happen,” Osodeke said at the time.

    However, Inuwa has said the NITDA never endorsed UTAS, stressing that the platform failed integrity test, ad that the federal government is still waiting for ASUU to upgrade and return the platform after addressing technical issues observed.

    TNG reports ASUU has embarked on one a month warning strike on February 14 to press home their demands involving about N1.3 trillion. The union also wants the federal government to adopt the UTAS payment platform to replace the Integrated Personnel and Payment Information System (IPPIS), which Osodeke had described as evil.

    Reacting to the contentious issues that led to the ongoing ASUU strike, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, said when he received a letter from the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, requesting a review of the submission and the technical ability of the software of the system, he forwarded the request to NITDA

    He said: “NITDA conducted their own analysis, their own testing and sent same back to me, and I drafted a cover letter I forwarded to the Minister of Labour and Employment, and I copied the two Ministers of Education, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and also office of the Accountant General of the Federation and even NUC (National University Commission).”

    Pantami, however, directed the director-general of NITDA, who sat beside him, to give the situation report on the matter.

    Inuwa said: “When we received the request to review UTAS, you know, building a complex system like UTAS that involves employees’ personal data, and also payment system, we have to subject it to best practice tests before approving.

    “Normally, when we are reviewing that kind of system, we perform three tests.

    “Firstly, because when you’re building a system, it’s not just about the technology, you need to consider the people that will use this system and the process.

    “If you don’t align people, process and technology, you will never get results. No matter how good the technology is, if the people don’t understand how to use it, they won’t use it. And if the process is different from the way the people work, also, they won’t use it.

    “So that is a process of building technology.

    “You need to get the business requirement. What do you want to achieve? So it’s not the technology that will come first, it is the business requirement, what do you want to achieve, then you need to identify the capabilities you need to achieve, that is your business objective.

    “Part of the capability is the technology you need to bring in and the people that will operate the technology before you start thinking of the technology, because technology is always a tool that will help you to achieve an objective or to do your work. If you bring the tool before knowing what to do with it, it will be useless.

    “So, when they came, we said okay, fine, we will do a user acceptance test. ASUU you’ve built this system, but you are not the one that will use the system. There are people in bursary, and in finance that will use this system.

    “So we need to do users’ acceptance test with them, let them come, show them the system, let them see if it can help them to do the work there.

    “Secondly, we said we’ll do a vulnerability test to test the security integrity of the system. Because if there is vulnerability, people can hack it, can change it, and it involves financial transactions. Adding zero means a lot. So we say we need to do that.

    “And also we need to do a stress test. You can build a system on your laptop or on a small computer, use it but when you put so much data it will crash, we need to do the stress test to make sure that system can do.

    “This is on the system. Then also you need to have a data centre where you need to put that system because just having a system without the data centre it will not operate also.

    “So, we did all these three tests with them. And the system couldn’t pass. We wrote the reports and submitted it back to the Minister, which he forwarded to all relevant institutions, including ASUU.

    “As we speak now, ASUU is working, trying to fix all the issues we highlighted with the system and we will review it again, but that is just one half of the story.’’

    According to him, ASUU is yet to inform the federal government where the data centre of the system will be installed.

    “The second half of the story also, we need to find where to put that system like IPPIS; we have a data centre built for it. ASUU where are we going to put it?

    “That means we need to have the data centre and also we need to check the data centre to make sure it meets the minimum requirement, because if you put people’s information and the system crashes, how can you pay them salary?

    “You need to build redundancy. There are a lot of things to do. So, but as we speak, they’re trying to fix all the issues we highlighted with the system. Then when we finish that, we need to look at the second half of the story, getting where to install it.”

    Recall that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige had on March 1 briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the progress report over the on-going negotiation between federal government and ASUU.

    Ngige, who spoke to newsmen at the end of the meeting with the president, said the federal government had so far paid over N92 billion as earned allowances and revitalisation fee to federal owned universities across the country.

    He said this was part of the implementation of the 2020 December agreement reached with the ASUU.

  • JUST IN: ‘ASUU will be on strike throughout March until late April’

    JUST IN: ‘ASUU will be on strike throughout March until late April’

    The ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may likely linger until late April.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports ASUU embarked on the strike on February 14th to press home their demands from the federal government.

    However, several engagements between the union and representatives of the government have ended in deadlock.

    According to a tweet on the official Twitter handle of ASUU: “Clearly, ASUU will be on strike throughout the month of March until late April”.

    https://twitter.com/ASUUNGR/status/1500165343523840002

    The union made the tweet following comments by Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige that: “Our panel will use 6 weeks to look into the demands placed by ASUU”:

    Earlier, Ngige had revealed the federal government had set a timeline to address the issue of using UTAS for the payment of salaries of universities’ lecturers.

  • ASUU strike: We will address issue with UTAS within six weeks – Ngige

    ASUU strike: We will address issue with UTAS within six weeks – Ngige

    The federal government of Nigeria has set a timeline for which to address the issue of using University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) for the payment of salaries of universities’ lecturers.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, who made this known on Wednesday, noted that a joint committee to conduct an integrity test on UTAS in conjunction with neutral experts had already been mandated.

    Ngige further noted that the joint committee is expected to conclude the test by March 8, and that once the test is concluded, “we are expected to work on it within six weeks”.

    ASUU had agitated for the adoption of UTAS to pay varsity lecturers’ salaries in preference to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) insisted upon by the Federal Government.

    ASUU called its members out in February on a warning strike to compel the Federal Government to address their demands, some of which had been lingering since 2009.

    Ngige expressed hope when he spoke with newsmen at the end of a conciliation meeting between the government and the union that the one-month warning strike embarked upon by ASUU on February 14 would soon be truncated.

    Ngige said the meeting agreed on many issues and a timeline was scheduled for the implementation of the agreements.

    According to him, ASUU officials agreed to return to their members with offers made by the government and revert to him before the week runs out.

    He noted that many of the items in the 2020 Memorandum of Action (MOA), had been dealt with exhaustively, while some were being addressed.

    “We have only one or two areas that are new. One of the new areas is the renegotiation of the Conditions of Service, which is called the `2009 Agreement’.

    “An agreement was reached in 2009 that their Conditions of Service would be reviewed every five years. It was done in 2014.

    “We started one in which the former UNILAG Pro-Chancellor, Wale Babalakin (SAN), was chairing the committee.

    “’After Babalakin, Prof. Manzali was in charge and the committee came up with a draft document, proposed by the Federal Ministry of Education and ASUU.

    “Today, Manzali’s committee has become defunct because many of the people in the committee are no longer pro-chancellors,’’ the minister explained.

    Ngige said that a new team had been constituted to take a second look at that document.

    “This is to make sure that some of the allowances are not against the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) fixed rates for wages and allowances.

    “If you propose allowances that do not comply with NSIWC rates, the government will not be able accept it.

    “So, it is important that they do the right thing from the beginning so that whatever the committee presents can be approved by the Federal Executive Council,’’ he said.

    Ngige also said that the meeting fixed a timeline of six weeks for the new committee set up by the education ministry to round up everything on the Conditions of Service.

    He noted that on the issue of UTAS for the payment of salaries, the meeting mandated a joint committee to conduct an integrity test on the platform in conjunction with neutral experts.

    The joint committee has ASUU, the National Universities Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency as members.

    “We told them to conclude the test by March 8. If they conclude, we are expected to work on it within six weeks,’’ Ngige said.

    Ngige said there was no problem with the issue of Earned Academic Allowances, apart from the reconciliation of payments made in tranches to the university system.

    “Once we conclude the reconciliation, if the Federal Government is in arrears on any tranche, the finance minister will look for money to pay; even though the Federal Government does not have money.

    “Earned allowance is an allowance for excessive workload. Last year, it was paid based on the rule of the thumb theory of 10 per cent of total personnel cost.

    “This year, we have told the National Universities Commission to put up a committee and within the next three weeks, come up with a figure that will be sent to the finance minister.

    “For me, I think, we are on course, ASUU should go to their members, show them offers made to them by government so that they can call off the strike,’’ Ngige said.

    Earlier, the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said members, students and Nigerian people want to see an action from the government.

    “The education sector in Nigeria is in crisis and money is being lost at the primary, secondary and tertiary education levels,’’ he said.

    He noted the quantum of money that ought to have been used to fund education in Nigeria was being lost to other countries.

    Osodeke, therefore, called for a declaration of emergency in the sector to solve the problem.

  • Strike: FG has paid N92 billion to ASUU – Ngige

    Strike: FG has paid N92 billion to ASUU – Ngige

    The federal government (FG) had so far paid over N92 billion as earned allowances and revitalisation fees to federal owned universities across the country, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige has said.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Ngige made this known while speaking with State House correspondents at the end of a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on the progress on ongoing negotiations between the FG and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The Minister of Labour and Employment said the payment was part of the implementation of the 2020 December agreement reached with the ASUU.

    ASUU has embarked on one month warning strike on Feb. 14, to press home their demands of about N1.2trillion. The union also want the FG to adopt the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) payment platform.

    “Why I said that the 2020 December agreement we had with ASUU is on course in terms of implementation. There is a line that says the federal government should pay N40 billion for (Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) for ASUU and other unions, that has been paid.

    “N30 billion was also budgeted or was to be paid for revitalization that also was paid late last year. N22.127 billion was agreed also in that December agreement, to be paid from the supplementary budget as Earned Allowances for 2021, that money was also paid last year.

    “It was put in the supplementary budget which was passed around June-July and the money was remitted. So, the government has done that.”

    On the controversial issue of introducing the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) payment platform as preferred by ASUU instead of the government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the minister said the matter would be revisited.

    “UTAS, which the universities developed has been subjected to test by the body responsible for that, Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which ran a user acceptance test also called for integrity and vulnerability test, but in their report, they pointed out to ASUU, the areas of lapses in that platform, which will not make it usable as presently configured.

    “But ASUU has written back to NITDA to say that some of those observations were not correct,” he said.

    According to Ngige, arrangements have now been concluded for the technical teams of NITDA and ASUU to meet and jointly conduct or repeat the test on the UTAS platform, so as to find a solution to the impasse.

  • ASUU did not inform us before embarking on strike – Minister

    ASUU did not inform us before embarking on strike – Minister

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) did not inform the Ministry of Education before embarking on its one month strike, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu has said.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Adamu made this known on Tuesday in a statement released by Mr Bem Gboon, the Director of Press, Ministry of Education.

    According to the statement, the Ministry only heard like any other Nigerian that the ASUU has embarked on a four week warning strike.

    It added that the Ministry’s doors are always open for discussion but that no such avenue was explored before ASUU embarked on the strike.

    Recall that ASUU embarked on the one month warning strike on 14th February 2022 after a two-day National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

    Announcing the strike, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU President said the union resolved to embark on the strike over the forceful payment of ASUU members’ salaries and emoluments with the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

    According to him, the non-adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) has continued to shortchange the union members.

    He also accused the government of failing to implement the Memorandum of Action it signed with the ASUU in December 2020.

    Osodeke said the union loathed disruption of academic activities and was not insensitive to concerns of stable academic calendar in public universities.

    He, however, sought the understanding and support of stakeholders to make the government more responsive to issues of health and education.

  • BREAKING: NITDA approves UTAS for payment of lecturers as ASUU calls IPPIS evil

    BREAKING: NITDA approves UTAS for payment of lecturers as ASUU calls IPPIS evil

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has approved the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for the payment of lecturers in Nigerian universities.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Emmanuel Osodeke, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) revealed this on Sunday in a statement, following an emergency meeting of the Union’s National Executive Council (NEC), held on Saturday.

    In the statement, Osodeke referred to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS), engineered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank as evil, stressing that the continuous use of the IPPIS had distorted the payment of the salaries of lecturers.

    He wondered why it took more than one year to get the needed feedback on the home-grown solution of UTAS at a time Nigeria is yearning for “local content”.

    The ASUU President stressed that the Union was fully prepared to address all the technical observations made by NITDA in order to make the immediate deployment of UTAS happen.

    “NEC is pleased that the end-user evaluation report overwhelmingly endorses UTAS for immediate deployment by government for Nigerian universities. On our part, ASUU is fully prepared to address all the technical observations made by NITDA in order to make this happen.

    “Our hope is that the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other agencies of government would promptly respond to issues that concern them in the NITDA’s report to pave way for speedy migration to UTAS and spare Nigerian universities of the evil effects of the IMF/World Bank-engineered IPPIS,” Osodeke stated.

    Meanwhile, ASUU in the statement indicated that it has placed the decision on when it’s members will embark on the next bout of industrial strike action threatened by the Union on hold, stressing that the situation would be reviewed at a later date.

    Osodeke stated that this was in consideration of ongoing intervention and consultation efforts by different interest groups within and outside Nigeria to make government address all outstanding issues arising from the December 2020 MoA.

    The ASUU President, however, expressed worries by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).

    The statement noted NEC’s regrets that the Federal Government has turned its back on plan to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review the draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement to enable the parties conclude a negotiation process which began in March 2017.

    The Union in the statement specifically accused the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba of failing to follow through with the promise made during a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives on 19th November, 2021.

    “The Minister assured us that the process of reviewing the document would be set in motion within one week from that date. Hon. Nwajiuba’s failure to fulfil a promise made in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly is not only provocative but reminiscent of trust-deficit that has bedevilled all agreements and understandings reached with this government and those before it since 2009,” Osodeke stated.

    The statement titled: enough of the blackmail reads in full below:

    ENOUGH OF THE BLACKMAIL

    1. The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) held an emergency meeting at its Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, on Saturday, 18th December, 2021 to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) of 23rd December, 2020 and other related matters. The ASUU-NEC meeting held against the backdrop of the union’s numerous consultative meetings, communications and discussions with relevant agents at both the executive and legislative arms of government since the suspension of the 2020 strike action.

    2. NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances (EAA). NEC condemns, in strong terms, the surreptitious moves to pooh-pooh our demands on the review of the NUC’s Act to curb the proliferation of universities by State Governments who are not funding the existing ones; adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS) with concurrent discontinuance of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and distortion in salary payment; release of accumulated promotion arrears; and the review and signing of the draft document on the Renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement. ASUU shall not relent in demanding for improvement in the welfare and conditions of service of our members. However, we shall resist any attempt to blackmail the union and derail our patriotic struggle for a productive university system by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing.

    3. NEC noted with regrets that the Federal Government has turned its back on plan to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review the draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement to enable the parties conclude a negotiation process which began in March 2017. This is contrary to the assurance given the leadership of ASUU by the Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, at a meeting with the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives on 19th November, 2021. The Minister assured us that the process of reviewing the document would be set in motion within one week from that date. Hon. Nwajiuba’s failure to fulfil a promise made in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly is not only provocative but reminiscent of trust-deficit that has bedevilled all agreements and understandings reached with this government and those before it since 2009.

    4. NEC reviewed the letter by the Minister of Labour and Employment conveying the report of the “integrity test” on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. The union wonders why it would take more than one year to get the needed feedback on a home-grown solution at a time Nigeria is yearning for “local content”. NEC is pleased that the end-user evaluation report overwhelmingly endorses UTAS for immediate deployment by government for Nigerian universities. On our part, ASUU is fully prepared to address all the technical observations made by NITDA in order to make this happen. Our hope is that the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other agencies of government would promptly respond to issues that concern them in the NITDA’s report to pave way for speedy migration to UTAS and spare Nigerian universities of the evil effects of the IMF/World Bank-engineered IPPIS.

    5. NEC took full account of efforts by student union bodies, leading media practitioners and organisations, religious and opinion leaders, frontline traditional rulers, civil society organisations and other interest groups within and outside Nigeria to make government address all outstanding issues arising from the December 2020 MoA. In particular, special cognisance was taken of the pledges made by the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to make further consultations on the crisis in the coming days with a view to finding an amicable resolution.

    6. NEC concluded that government has failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs. However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date with a view to deciding on the next line of action.

    7. Finally, NEC appreciates the concerns expressed by patriotic Nigerians and friends of Nigeria in solidarity with ASUU’s mission to salvage public education in general and the Nigerian University System in particular. We assure all and sundry that ASUU shall spare no efforts in its struggle for repositioning public universities and the transformation of Nigeria.

    8. The struggle continues!

  • Reps uncover syndicate manipulating IPPIS to defraud FG

    Reps uncover syndicate manipulating IPPIS to defraud FG

    …but suddenly goes Into Closed Door After Uncovering Fraud In IPPIS, MDCN

    …bar Journalists, Committee Staff Out Of Hearing Room

    Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Health on Friday uncovered a syndicate of civil servants and operators of the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), manipulating the system to defraud government.

    The lawmakers in session revealed this while meeting with stakeholders in the health sector to deliberate on ways of resolving industrial disputes between government and resident doctors who are currently on strike.

    But suddenly the committee hurriedly dissolved into a closed door session just before representatives of IPPIS explain their role in the alleged fraud involving multiple payment of salaries to a selected resident doctors in certain hospitals across the country.

    The sudden disolution sent a strong feeling of an alleged legislative cover-up as the IPPIS which is at the center of the issues leading to the ongoing strike was not allowed to speak in the presence of journalists.

    The committee members had been told by members of Resident Doctors Association that the reason for the ongoing strike is due to financial injustice at the hands of the IPPIS to the effect that while many are owed salary arrears, others enjoyed multiple payments in the same system that prides itself in transparency.

    The hearing had commenced with lawmakers fuming about the embarrassment the strike has caused the government, blaming the situation on alleged ineptitude of the .Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), leadership who was supposed to be abreast of happenings within its domain.

    One after another, lawmakers took turn to grill the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, the MDCN Registrar, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, and representatives of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

    They all expressed disdain at what they described as “national embarrassment”, occasioned by the greed of some people in the MDAs who have formed a syndicate to manipulate the IPPIS and defraud government.

    But surprisingly, the MDCN Registrar, Dr. Sanusi who was asked by the PermSec to shed light told the committee that he was just getting to hear about the issue of double payment by IPPIS to some doctors and dentists in some hospitals on Thursday.

    However in another breath, the same registrar disclosed to the committee that issues of multiple salaries have led to serious pressure on his Council.

    “In the last two, three weeks, there has been serious pressure on us because of this matter,” he said.

    Sanusi who apologised for not turning up at the hearing on Thursday thereby forcing the committee to issue a 24hr ultimatum was also indicted for harbouring ghost workers in his Council.

    Asked why he was paying some doctors who were not captured by the IPPIS in their database, he parried the question saying explanations regarding people being paid twice lie with the IPPIS.

    “The IPPIS people who are around would be in a better position to explain what happened”.

    Committee chairman, Hon. Tanko Sununu, at this point asked the IPPIS officials to make available this list of those who were paid twice. He said the list was to enable them confirm that there was indeed double payment and those who benefitted from it.

    Members such as Hon. Benjamin Kalu who’s the House Spokesman, Hon. Samuel Adejare, who’s the Deputy chairman, as well as Hon. Haruna Msheliya all lamented the monumental fraud and embarrassment the situation has caused the government of the day.

    While Hon. Adejare said it was unacceptable for the IPPIS which government spent so much to put in place and eliminate corruption has failed, Kalu said the numerous “transaction errors” recorded by the system as noted in the documents were mere internal administrative issues that should have been resolved immediately to avoid the strike.

    However, Hon. Msheliya on the other hand said the development was nothing but the handiwork of a syndicate within the MDAs and the IPPIS that’s subverting the system to defraud government.

    “Mr PermSec, let me tell you that whenever there is a financial injustice of this magnitude in an institution, know that it is a syndicate that’s behind it. The have insiders whom they use to manipulate the system and it is a serious matter that we must get to the bottom.

    And the Ministry must fish them out and deal with them,” he said, just as another member was heard saying that “they must be sacked and prosecuted too”.

    But just as the IPPIS officials were about to state their own side of the story, the committee chairman asked that the media and committee staff except the Clerk, should exit the room for a closed door meeting.

    His deputy, Hon. Adejare also stressed that no recording device including cameras should be left in recording mode, or should be taken out altogether.

    But House Spokesman, Kalu, informed journalists to stay behind for a post meeting briefing from the committee, keeping journalists on the walkway for hours.

    The said meeting which started at about 11:48 lasted beyond 4 minutes past 3pm.

    Addressing Journalists after the closed door meeting, the deputy chairman, Hon. Adejare urged the resident doctors to call off the strike and return back to the negotiating table.

    He said Nigerians are finding things difficult due to the strike, adding majority are in pain and cannot access medical care in private hospitals due to economic hardship occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic.