IPPIS: ASUU urges govt to stop starvation strategy to compel its members

 Tony Osauze, Benin

The Benin zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged the federal and state governments to stop the war strategy of starvation under the radar of Integrated Personnel Payroll, IPPIS by paying its members’ salaries in the interest of justice.

The advice was contained in a statement signed by Prof. Fred Esumeh and five other leaders of the zone. The Benin Zone, comprise University of Benin (UNIBEN), Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, (AAUE), Adekunle Ajasin University,  Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSETECH), Delta State University, Abraka (DELSU) and Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE).

The statement described the forceful application of IPPIS by the Federal and State governments during negotiations as a deliberate ploy to cripple the Nigerian University system.

Giving a background of what led to the indefinite strike  declared by the national leadership of ASUU, the zone blamed the strike on the Federal Government forceful application of IPPIS and refusal to implement the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreements and the 2013 Memorandum of Association (MoU) the government voluntarily entered with the Union and other demands which were aimed at addressing the rot in Nigeria education system. It said  the irregularities experienced by affiliate unions in Nigerian Universities like SAANU, NAAT, and NASU members in the payment of February 2020 salaries who enrolled on the IPPIS, have lend credence to ASUU’s position that that “IPPIS has failed all forms of integrity test, as the platform or software for the payment of University workers.”