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Tag: UTAS

  • 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.

  • What FG should do to avert strike – ASUU

    What FG should do to avert strike – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has advised the federal government of Nigeria on what to do to avert the looming industrial strike action.

    Prof Ayo Akinwole, Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan chapter gave the advice while speaking in Ibadan on Tuesday in an interactive session with newsmen.

    He called on Nigerians to prevail on the FG to prevent imminent strike by fulfilling its promises.

    Akinwole, who was joined by other ASUU leadership of the institution, said that government was yet to implement the 2009 agreement which encompassed its members’ conditions of service, emoluments and allowances.

    “What has been subsisting in the universities since 2009 still remains the same. So, we have agreed, we’ve concluded negotiations with the government’s team in attendance in May, but yet to sign it into Law.

    “Rather than submitting it for presidential ascent, what the government wants to do now is to set up another tripartite committee to look again into what took us four years to arrive at.

    “This is unacceptable to our union and we are telling the public that government is playing with time bomb in respect to higher education and universities in general,” Akinwole said.

    He noted that the intervention of the National Inter Religious Council prevented the industrial action that could have been in December 2021 and promised to discuss with government and mediate.

    Akinwole said that another issue in contention was the registration of UTAS, the software that ASUU developed for management of personnel, salaries and wages in the university system which government said would be evaluated by NITDA and deployed in six months.

    “Government is asking us after a year of submission to resubmit the software for another re-evaluation. In spite of the fact that the average evaluation scored the software very high, the government is not willing to deploy UTAS.

    “We are calling on Nigerians to prevail on them to do the needful in order not to throw the university system into another crisis which they may not be able to manage.

    “Another issue is the revitalization of the university system. The government by his own team submitted that it will take N1.3 trillion to revitalise the Nigerian education system to meet up with the West African average way back 2013.

    “Up till today, government had released just N270 million which leaves a surplus of over one point something trillions yet unreleased. Government promised that N220 million would be released before the end of last year.

    “But N30 million was released in addition to N20 million released in 2019 that makes N50 million that government ought to release in 2014. With the additional outstanding N850 million it ought to release for the next four years,”he said.

    Akinwole said there was no need for another crisis if government had fulfilled its promises, noting that, “the congress of ASUU UI calls on the Federal Government to fulfil the MoA signed in December 2020.”

  • 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!

  • Strike: ASUU opens up on what’s next after negotiations with FG

    Strike: ASUU opens up on what’s next after negotiations with FG

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it would now consult with its council to make their final intention known if the strike would be suspended or not.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports ASUU made this known on Friday following negotiations between the federal government (FG) and the Union.

    The government agreed to use the old platform before Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System.

    The government agreed to pay the striking lecturers all withheld salaries through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) until ASUU’s University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) was ready for usage.

    On revitalization, the government offered N15 billion in addition to the N20 billion pledged earlier.

    “ASUU would now consult with its council and then get back to the government in a short while, to make their final intention known; if the strike will be suspended or not,” the Union tweeted.

    At the end of the seven-hour meeting, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige told reporters that the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) has offered to release N40 billion or in the alternative, N35 billion to be shared by all the registered Trade Unions in the universities after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.

    “The FG reiterated that her offer of N40 billion or 35 billion whichever is accepted by ASUU was for all the universities unions: ASUU had proposed that N40 billion be paid immediately for all unions,” the Minister said.

    Ngige said all vice-chancellors are to submit details of the EAA/EA to the National Universities Commission (NUC) on or before November 30.

    Speaking on the issue of withheld salaries, Ngige said the Federal Ministry of Labour and Federal Ministry of Education will review the issue of “no work, no pay” as stipulated in Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 with a view to getting approval for the withheld salaries to be paid.

  • No hope in sight to ending strike – ASUU

    No hope in sight to ending strike – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), says there is no hope in sight to suspend its lingering strike due to alleged lack of commitment by the Federal Government.

    Prof. Theophilus Lagi, the ASUU, Abuja Zonal Coordinator, disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday at Gwagwalada, Abuja.

    ASUU, Abuja Zone, comprises the Federal University of Technology, Minna; Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai; Federal University of Lafia, and University of Abuja.

    Lagi said the strike had lingered for several months as the government had yet to show any serious commitment or willingness towards addressing the unions core demands for students to resume studies.

    According to him, members of the union have been advised to seek other legitimate means of survival as the government has not released salaries withheld since February, 2020.

    “Today, we wish to let Nigerians especially our students and parents know that there is no hope in sight to ending or suspending the ASUU strike that lingered for long.

    “Government is yet to show serious commitment towards addressing our core demands.

    “One needs not to be a psychologist to understand the behavior and recent utterances of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, by showing his disdain for Nigerian Academics and has failed to play the role of an unbiased umpire in moderating the imbroglio.

    “He has now become the spokesperson to the accountant General of the Federation and Ministry of finance, instead of finding solution for lecturers to get back to work.

    “He is turning the wheel of progress backwards by setting ASUU on collision with other pressure groups in the University.

    “In the past few weeks for instance, Ngige has said one thing when he met with the Union and a different thing on the same subject in an interview with the media.

    “This double character of a Minister and a purported negotiator in the face-off should be a source of worry to not only Nigerian students but parents who patronise public universities.

    “On this, we will like to educate the honourable Minister that public universities in Nigeria are creatures of law as each University is established by an Act enacted by the National Assembly,” he said.

    Lagi maintained that in spite of agitations with comprehensive and indefinite strike to compel the federal government to address its core demands, government had not shown any commitment.

    He however, called on the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, payment and mainstreaming of earned academic allowances into salaries, release of funds for revitalisation of the Nigerian university system among others.

    The coordinator condemned the event at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) where the authority allegedly invited the military to assist in the conduct of the 2019/2020 first semester examinations.

    “Another bizarre turn of event is unfolding at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, where a letter written by the Ag. Registrar, Barr. T. M Ikpenwa on 12th November, 2020 inviting the 103 Batalion of the Nigerian Army to assist in the organisation and conduct of the 2019/2020 First semester Examinations.

    “Such involvement of the military crack team in a normal University function is primitive and height of insult and lack of regard to the Academia in Nigeria.

    “The union wishes to call on the authorities at ESUT to refrain from the ugly trend because we do not want a repeat of 1976 in Nigerian universities,” he said.

    He described the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as better suited in the University system, as it recognised all agreements entered into between government and university based trade Unions.

    Ladi noted that the UTAS platform ensured simultaneous payments of employees salaries and third party deductions like tax, pension, Union dues, cooperatives and bank loans.

  • ASUU gives reasons why strike lingers

    ASUU gives reasons why strike lingers

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it is seeking swift completion of its ongoing renegotiations with the Federal Government to suspend the lingering industrial action.

    Prof. Ade Adejumo, the Zonal Coordinator, Ibadan Zone of ASUU, stated this at a press conference in Ibadan on Wednesday.

    ASUU embarked on the industrial action seven months ago which is premised on the union’s refusal to adopt the Federal Government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    Adejumo, who was represented at the conference by Prof. Moyo Ajao, the Chairperson, ASUU, University of Ilorin Chapter, said the union was forced to go on strike in March 2020 when the COVID-19 lockdown began.

    He said this was done to give the government enough room to address lingering issues.

    “It was a patriotic act aimed at resolving the issues so that our students would be in school any time the lockdown was lifted.

    “Some people have been wondering why ASUU is on strike again. The simple answer is that ASUU is on strike because of the survival of the University system where many of us still have our children as students.

    “ASUU is on strike in order to restore the past glory of public universities and address infrastructural decay and deficit in our institutions.

    “ASUU is on strike for the legitimate dues of its members who are the least paid in the tertiary education sub-sector,” he said.

    According to him, ASUU is actually tired of having a circus show of talks but in the interest of the students and the Nigerians at large, we still continue to hold meetings upon meetings.

    “At this stage of the struggle, Nigerians are urged to compel the government to release withheld salaries of our members, remit check-off dues of the union to the rightful owner.

    “Government should also speed up the process of testing the integrity of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) so that it can be deployed for payment beginning from January 2021.

    “We are ready to suspend the strike as our children too are tired of staying at home but we cannot work on empty stomachs.”

    Adejumo said the interest of Nigeria and the future generations was more paramount to ASUU than the immediate gains of its members.

    “That is why ASUU has been consistent in challenging the rot in the system through sustained engagements with the powers that be since the time of the military.

    “The gains of ASUU struggles are in the changes that TETFund has been able to bring to the tertiary education sector in the country, and ASUU will not relent in pushing for a better university system in the country.

    The union said the government agreed to inject funds to revitalise the country’s universities in 2019, adding that however, it was still waiting for the fulfillment of the agreement.

  • JUST IN: FG caves in to ASUU request on UTAS

    JUST IN: FG caves in to ASUU request on UTAS

    The Federal Government (FG) on Tuesday said it might consider adoption of the University Transparency Account System (UTAS) presented by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    UTAS, proposed by ASUU to the Federal Government, is an alternative emoluments payment platform to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    The Labour Minister, Sen. Chris Ngige, said this while addressing newsmen after about two and half hours closed door meeting with the leaderships of the Senate and ASUU.

    Ngige said that the alternative payment platform presented by ASUU was home grown and worth given thorough assessment test.

    “We agreed at the meeting to give required consideration to the UTAS alternative they came up with as a way of finding lasting solution to the lingering crisis over implementation of IPPIS.

    “We have neither jettisoned the implementation of the IPPIS nor fully accepted UTAS .

    “The level we moved to now is to subject ASUU’s scheme to integrity test and in doing so, it will be presented to users like the office of Accountant General of the Federation on Wednesday.

    “After that, it will be sent to the National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA) and from there to the office of the National Security Adviser for second look.

    “The platform is an option grown device that requires stage by stage consideration and from the looks of things is good,” he said.

    Confirming the head way achieved at the meeting, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TetFund, Sen. Ahmad Baba Kaita, said that the interface had not ended, but a stage of compromise is getting closer between the two parties.

    “The meeting brokered by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, among other stakeholders, achieved a lot today with agreement on the need to subject the UTAS alternative brought forward by ASUU for integrity test by all relevant departments of the government,” he said.

    The ASUU leadership, however, refused to speak to the press after the closed door meeting, but were in good mood apparently due to the government’s decision to consider the alternative platform.

  • ASUU in Benin rejects IPPIS, opts for UTAS

    ASUU in Benin rejects IPPIS, opts for UTAS

    The Benin Zone of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has opted for University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which it developed as their preferred mode of payment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    Prof. Fred Esumeh, the Zonal Coordinator said this on Tuesday during a press conference at the University of Benin (UNIBEN).

    He said that UTAS would help curb corruption in the academic system.

    The national body of ASUU had rejected the IPPIS which the government introduced to curb corruption and eliminate financial leakages within the Federal Government.

    The Federal Government has made it compulsory for all workers on its employment to receive salaries through IPPIS.

    The union said rejected it and declared a two-week warning strike over the government’s refusal to pay them because they did not join in the new payment platform.

    Esumeh said the union rejected the IPPIS as a payment platform because it was not suitable for the university system and was not designed to accommodate the peculiarities of academic institutions.

    “ASUU has promised alternative software that would be compatible with the university system and towards this, the Federal Government accepted the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, (UTAS) in principle.

    “Government also approved that the template be developed by ASUU and its researchers as a platform for the financial administration of universities staff monthly payroll and accounting processes in federal universities,” he said.

    Esumeh said the Federal Government also pledged that when fully developed, the UTAS would be subjected to various integrity tests in order to verify its efficacy as software that can pass the necessary attribute tests as specified by Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NIIDA).

    He said that ASUU had proposed a time frame of 18 months to the Federal Government ASUU to develop the UTAS and subject it to the integrity evaluation tests.

    Esumeh said that the union had resolved to continue with the ongoing strike if government failed to satisfactorily address the issues in contention which included revitalisation fund for public universities arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).

    Others are visitation to universities, proliferation of state universities and issues of governance and the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.