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Tag: UTAS

  • ASUU strike: If it’s IPPIS, it’s not a justifiable cause – BPSR D-G

    ASUU strike: If it’s IPPIS, it’s not a justifiable cause – BPSR D-G

    Director General (DG) of the Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), Dr Dasuki Arabi has said the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is not a justifiable cause if it is about the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Dr Arabi made this known on Wednesday at a workshop on blockchain technology organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    Arabi was speaking on the application of emerging technologies in public sector reforms when he revealed that at the time when the IPPIS was being developed, ASUU was invited to make inputs but the union refused to honour the invitation.

    He stressed that the IPPIS is a robust tool that can be amended to accommodate different and various interest, adding that if the strike embarked upon by the universities lecturers is about the IPPIS, then the strike was not a justifiable cause.

    “When we were developing IPPIS, we invited ASUU to make inputs, but they refused to honour our invitation. They did not even come to say we have an option as at that time. They just did not come. So, we had no option than to design IPPIS the way it is.

    “But it [IPPIS] is such a robust tool that can be amended to accommodate different and various interest. That is it on the battle of strike. So, if it is IPPIS, on this side, I think it is not a justifiable cause,” Arabi said.

    On the issue of funding for ASUU, the BPSR D-G advised that public-private partnership model should be adopted to fund education in the country, stressing that government alone cannot fund education.

    “That was why I spoke about PPP. It is definitely very difficult for government, especially Nigeria to meet the demands of ASUU, not only ASUU, but to be able to fund education the way it should be funded.

    “But, the more we adopt emerging technologies, open up the system, get more transparent, nations, development partners, investors will come and invest in our educational system and some of these problems would be addressed,” Arabi said.

    Recall that ASUU embarked on the ongoing strike starting from February 14th 2022 to press home their demands. The striking lecturers are agitating for the implementation of the memorandum of action agreed between the government and ASUU, including improved funding and removal from IPPIS.

    The union provided the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as it’s preferred tool for receiving payments and other earned allowances in the place of IPPIS.

    However, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said UTAS passed user acceptability test but failed integrity and credibility test, which form the bulwark against hacking.

    Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the striking lecturers requested the FG to release N200 billion from the N4 trillion fuel subsidy to them and they will suspend the months old strike immediately.

  • ASUU strike: We are talking with NITDA to bend on UTAS – Ngige

    ASUU strike: We are talking with NITDA to bend on UTAS – Ngige

    Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment has said the Federal Government (FG) is currently in talks with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to reconsider its position on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Dr Ngige made this known while appealing to members of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to immediately call off their prolonged industrial action.

    Ngige said this on Thursday in Abuja, while interacting with newsmen after receiving notification letter of his nomination by Sun Newspaper Publishing Limited for the award of ‘Public Service Icon 2021’.

    The the striking lecturers have been on strike for over months to press home their demands.

    The lecturers are agitating for the implementation of the memorandum of action agreed between the government and ASUU, including improved funding and removal from IPPIS.

    However, the minister called on ASUU to return to their students for resumption of academic work in the public universities.

    Ngige said the federal government remained unrelenting in its efforts towards addressing all the industrial disputes in the university system, involving ASUU and the other unions.

    “Everything contained in the December 2020 agreement were religiously executed to the extent that the federal government aggregately paid N92 billion from the 2021 budget.

    “This is to cover the revitalisation funds and Earned Academic Allowances/Earned Allowances for non-teaching staff,” he said.

    Ngige also maintained that regarding the renegotiation of conditions of service of the university lecturers, that the renegotiation must be guided by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) principle of ability to pay.

    He recalled that the former renegotiation committee headed by Prof. Jubril Munzali made a proposal of 200 per cent rise in emoluments of university workers, but the federal government through the Ministry of Education said it cannot pay.

    The minister said the university system and the teaching hospitals consume two thirds of all the emoluments currently paid from the national budget of the country.

    This meant that an increase for the lecturers would occasion upward review of the salaries of allied professionals in the health sector, based on their different salary structures, he explained.

    “There is no point giving you percentages on paper that nobody can pay. Munzali worked out a percentage which placed the university workers on about 200 per cent pay rise.

    “The Federal Government through the Education Ministry said they cannot pay. The Ministry of Finance said they cannot pay. They came to me and I said nothing is wrong with renegotiation because even if a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is signed, it could be renegotiated.

    “The document produced by Munzali was not signed by both ASUU and the Federal Government. It is a proposal. Munzali’s committee had elapsed.

    “The Education Ministry didn’t act as I wanted. The Minister was away and his lieutenants didn’t do anything for five months, contrary to my expectations.

    “The minister has set up another committee headed by Prof. Nimi Briggs. They have been working and I have given them six weeks to come up with a proposal,” he added.

    On the payment platform for university lecturers, Ngige said NITDA informed him that UTAS proposed by ASUU passed user acceptability test but failed integrity and credibility test, which form the bulwark against hacking.

    He added that “NITDA said UTAS failed, ASUU said we didn’t fail. As we were discussing, ASUU went on strike.

    “In the face of this disagreement between ASUU and NITDA, we are talking with NITDA to bend backwards so that there will be a handshake between UTAS and the government certified IPPIS platform.

    “After embarking on strike, ASUU has gone back to what I proposed to them,’’ he said.

    Ngige also faulted the demand by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) for a High-Powered Panel constituted of members with requisite mandates to resolve within 21 days the foregoing issues militating against industrial harmony in the system.

    Recall that NLC and its affiliate unions in the education sector held a meeting on April 13, to take reports on the ongoing industrial dispute cum action in Nigeria’s university system and resolved to make the call.

    According to Ngige, President Muhammadu Buhari had already put in place his own high-powered team, comprising his Chief of Staff, the Ministers of Labour, Education, Finance, Communication and Digital Economy.

    Earlier, the management of the Sun Newspapers led by its Managing Director, Mr Onuoha Ukeh, described Ngige as a quintessential public servant whose contributions to national development were enviable.

    Ukeh described him as “an administrative czar and a nonconformist politician” whose 34 months as governor of Anambra revolutionalised the state.

    “Ngige, as governor, transformed Awka to a befitting capital city during his tenure, tarring all the roads in the GRA Awka, dualised Nnamdi Azikiwe Road and put streetlights, among others,’’ he said.

    He also noted that the minister’s labour diplomacy enabled the ministry resolved through social dialogue, over 1,700 industrial disputes while restoring Nigeria to the governing board of the ILO.

  • Why we didn’t call-off strike – ASUU

    Why we didn’t call-off strike – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) Lagos chapter has warned the federal government that the continuous rejection of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) by the National Information Technology Development Agency will continue to elongate the strike embarked upon by public Universities lecturer.

    ASUU has made it clear that the strike would not be called off until government sees reasons with UTAS and implements the renegotiated agreement.

    Speaking at a press briefing held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, the coordinator of ASUU Lagos Zone, Adelaja Odukoya, insisted that the UTAS proposed by the union passed the test and quality assurance requirements, having scored 99.3 per cent.

    Odukoya described the rejection as an attempt to play politics with the public universities

    He added that the federal government is engaging in deliberate attempt to discredit UTAS which has been proven very credible.

    He urged Nigerians to join the union in the fight to meet their demands.

    He said, “We, however, wish to draw the attention of all concerned to the deliberate misinformation and disinformation of the public by the National Information Technology and Development Agency on the state of the integrity test

    “The utterances of the NITDA spokesperson are capable of deliberate elongation of the ongoing strike action, suppose the government allows itself to be misinformed and misdirected through the managerial incompetence of the NITDA officers. In that case, our union considers it the peak of insensitivity to the plight of the universities, including staff, students, and indeed the country.

    “Nonetheless, it is the considered opinion of our union that we owe the Nigerian people the onerous responsibility of providing the truth in discharging our patriotic duty as Nigerian Academic and the intellectual conscience of the Nigerian state.

    ASUU, therefore, wants the Nigerian public to call the DG, NITDA to order on the point of integrity not to play politics and vendetta with the future of Nigeria and that of our public universities as National treasures and collective patrimony of all Nigerian citizens. We are convinced that the DG of NITDA is only out to carry out the hatchet job of a Minister whose professional fraud was challenged by our union.

    “ASUU wants to inform you that the current strike action will not be suspended until the government addresses the adoption of UTAS, implement the renegotiated agreement, pay all outstanding allowances without prejudice to the donation of $1 million to Afghanistan and fulfill all other issues contained in the Memorandum of Action signed with our Union

     

     

  • STRIKE: ASUU warns FG not to be misdirected by NITDA officers

    STRIKE: ASUU warns FG not to be misdirected by NITDA officers

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Lagos Zone, has warned the Federal Government not to allow itself to be misinformed and misdirected through the officers of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, in order to end the ongoing strike.

     

    ASUU noted that the rejection of University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, by NITDA will continue to elongate the strike action.

     

    The union declared that the strike would not be suspended until the government addresses the adoption of UTAS, implements the renegotiated agreement, and pays all outstanding allowances.

     

    Speaking at a press briefing held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, the coordinator of ASUU Lagos Zone, Adelaja Odukoya, insisted that the UTAS proposed by the union passed the test and quality assurance requirements, having scored 99.3 per cent.

     

    Odukoya described the rejection as an attempt to play politics with the public universities.

     

    He maintained that the statement of the NITDA discrediting the union’s efforts on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution is false and a deliberate attempt to misinform the public.

     

    He called on Nigerians to join the union in the fight to meet their demands.

     

    He said, “We, however, wish to draw the attention of all concerned to the deliberate misinformation and disinformation of the public by the National Information Technology and Development Agency on the state of the integrity test and adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution by the government.

     

    “The utterances of the NITDA spokesperson are capable of deliberate elongation of the ongoing strike action, suppose the government allows itself to be misinformed and misdirected through the managerial incompetence of the NITDA officers. In that case, our union considers it the peak of insensitivity to the plight of the universities, including staff, students, and indeed the country.

     

    “Nonetheless, it is the considered opinion of our union that we owe the Nigerian people the onerous responsibility of providing the truth in discharging our patriotic duty as Nigerian Academic and the intellectual conscience of the Nigerian state.

     

    “ASUU, therefore, wants the Nigerian public to call the DG, NITDA to order on the point of integrity not to play politics and vendetta with the future of Nigeria and that of our public universities as National treasures and collective patrimony of all Nigerian citizens. We are convinced that the DG of NITDA is only out to carry out the hatchet job of a Minister whose professional fraud was challenged by our union.

     

    “ASUU wants to inform you that the current strike action will not be suspended until the government addresses the adoption of UTAS, implement the renegotiated agreement, pay all outstanding allowances without prejudice to the donation of $1 million to Afghanistan and fulfill all other issues contained in the Memorandum of Action signed with our Union.”

  • ASUU strike: NITDA explains engagement with UTAS

    ASUU strike: NITDA explains engagement with UTAS

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has emphasised that it subjected the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to a review to allow for a comprehensive solution that equals standard.

    Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations of the agency, said this on Saturday in a statement she issued in Abuja.

    Umar said it became necessary for the agency to set the record straight owing to biased information in the public domain about the involvement of NITDA to the solution.

    She explained that the Act establishing NITDA mandated it to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardisation, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology (IT) practices in Nigeria.

    To that effect, Umar said the agency had over the years, issued series of regulatory instruments, including the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline issued in 2016.

    “This regulatory instrument, currently being reviewed, provides guidelines for the design, development and testing of software projects in Nigeria.

    “Furthermore, Section 10 of the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT, 2019, provided detailed guidelines and expectations for Indigenous Software Development and Software Enabled Products and Services.

    “In line with its mandate, the agency has been registering indigenous software solutions and part of the registration process requires that solutions are subjected to tests in line with the requirements of the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline, and the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT.

    “It is common knowledge that ASUU has been engaging the Federal Government on a number of issues including payment of promotion arrears, earned academic allowance, funding for revitalisation of public Universities, and adoption of UTAS as payment platform for universities.

    “On the October 14, 2020, NITDA was invited to participate in an interactive session between ASUU, Federal Government and the Legislature to avail ASUU the opportunity to demonstrate the UTAS platform,” Umar said.

    According to her, as part of the conditions for acceptance of UTAS as payment platform for public universities by the Federal Government, NITDA was directed to subject the platform to Integrity Test and advise the government appropriately.

    She added that the agency conducted three out of eight tests specified in the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline.

    Umar said the tests included User Acceptance Test (UAT), Stress Test, and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Test (VAPT).

    She added that NITDA met with ASUU on Oct. 22, 2020, to discuss the modalities of the assessment of the solution, which involved the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

    “Furthermore, documents necessary for effective planning and execution of the tests were requested.

    “Upon receipt of the documents from ASUU as well as access details of the UTAS platform in January, 2021, the agency’s team carried out basic Functionality/User Acceptance Test on the platform.

    “As NUC conducted UAT, NITDA felt it can use the report produced by NUC for its report.

    “However, upon review, it was observed that the Solution was demonstrated to the Principal Officers in a similar way it was demonstrated at the Accountant General’s Office.

    “The Agency decided that further UAT be carried out with actual end-users from the University System,” she said.

    She explained that arrangements were made and 46 staff members from 28 Federal Universities, mainly from Vice Chancellor’s Office, Human Resources, Accounts and Bursary participated in the UAT that held at the NUC complex on Aug. 10, 2021.

    According to her, although the UAT was carried out as planned, challenges were encountered that negatively impacted on the outcome of the assessment.

    Umar added that the agency’s team also carried out series of Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Tests on the UTAS platform, which revealed high risk vulnerabilities that were likely to negatively impact on the platform, if exploited.

    “Furthermore, two Low Risk vulnerabilities were identified and all discussed with the ASUU team and a further assessment carried out on the updated version of the Solution revealed that the High Risk Vulnerabilities have been addressed.

    “However, one Medium Risk, three Low Risks and 44 Informational Risks were identified and were adequately communicated to the relevant stakeholders including ASUU,” the spokesperson said.

    She added that a comprehensive report outlining all the tests carried out and issues identified were submitted to Dr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on Dec. 3, 2021, and also to the Chief Conciliator, Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, as well as other stakeholders in ASUU.

    Umar recalled that on Feb. 22, 2022, during the conciliation meeting at the instance of Ngige, it was resolved that NITDA worked with ASUU and subject UTAS to re-assessment with key members of the conciliation team in attendance during the Technical Team’s sessions as observers.

    “It may interest the agency’s stakeholders to know that NITDA, as a responsible agency of government, made all arrangements to ensure that the exercise was carried out successfully.

    “The interaction commenced on the March 8, 2022, with discussion on the methodology to be used as specified in the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline.

    “Upon reaching agreement and starting the actual test on the Solution, a critical error occurred and the test could not continue and as a result, the interaction had to be postponed to enable the ASUU Team rectify the issue.

    “Considering the challenge encountered, the assessment methodology had to be reviewed to facilitate daily remediation of critical issues as they occur which is against NITDA’s Standard Operating Procedure for such exercises,” she said.

    She recognised the attention of stakeholders and the general public to the need for the UTAS platform to be sufficiently robust with key functionalities implemented before being deployed to the production environment.

    Umar reiterated that the solution as currently implemented was limited, adding that there are critical functionalities that needed to be implemented, tested and passed before the Solution could be considered to meet NITDA’s due diligent requirements.

    “These areas of improvement have been fully documented and shared with the ASUU team for necessary action.

    “It is expected that ASUU will improve on the areas identified, work on the security issues flagged and resubmit the Solution for further assessment.

    “The agency wish to use this opportunity to assure stakeholders and the general public of its commitment to its mandate and the vision of proactively facilitating the development of Nigeria into a sustainable digital economy by creating an enabling environment where Nigerians develop, adopt and derive value from digital technology,” the statement read in part.

  • 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.

  • Strike: FG reacts after ASUU declares two-month extension

    Strike: FG reacts after ASUU declares two-month 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.