From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has alleged that on annual basis, the Federal Government pays $44 to United Kingdom (UK) company managing the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), a platform for payment of salaries and other entitlements of Federal Government workers.
ASUU explained that $44 is a levy charged on every IPPIS account, which has amounted to huge foreign exchange demand.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodoke, disclosed the figure at the TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR) showcase at the Innov8 Technology Hub, Airport Road, Abuja, yesterday.
He decried continuous patronage of foreign goods and services by Nigerians, even when the services can be sourced locally.
He also called on Nigerians to deal with the inferiority complex, which allows them to depend on services abroad, stating that every country in the world that wants to develop must use its ideas and use its people and those ideas are in the universities.
“In 2020, we were challenged to produce something better than IPPIS, it took us two months to produce it, UTAS, which we presented to the National Assembly. We tested the two before them and IPPIS came last; but Nigeria insisted on using IPPIS.
“Every year, the Nigerian government pays $44 to a company in the UK for paying me salary, and you reject the one in your university. You want to do anything you run abroad.”
He lamented the pending human capital crisis that might hit Nigeria soon, as its workforce are increasingly emigrating for greener pastures abroad.