The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday reaffirmed its resolve not to suspend its ongoing strike until the Federal Government honours its 2019 agreements.
This came as the university lecturers unveiled the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, (UTAS) which it developed as an alternative to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
Addressing a press conference at the Gwagwalada campus of the University of Abuja, the national President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said its IPPIS alternative was ready for integrity test, expressing hope that the government will not fail to address the substantive issues in the ongoing strike action.
He further explained that the software for UTAS was unveiled and demonstrated to the Minister of Education and senior management staff of the Ministry of Education, including the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abdulrasheed Abubakar, on Monday.
“It is our sincere hope that the government would not renege on its promise because the benefits of UTAS to the university system (both public and private) cannot be found in any other software in Nigeria today. Now that the union is close to meeting the government’s demand on an alternative to IPPIS, it is our sincere hope that the substantive issues in the ongoing strike action would be given the desired attention,” he said at the conference which was attended by virtually all the National Officers.
The ASUU president also expressed dismay over the five months’ salaries of their members at the University of Maiduguri and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike withheld by the Accountant-General of the Federation on account of non-registration on IPPIS.
“Thousands of other academics across the Universities are suffering the same fate. So, while we counsel that government at both the federal and state levels must meet the Taskforce specified guidelines for reopening of educational institutions, we insist that all the arrears of the withheld salaries of our members in federal and state Universities must be paid immediately to pave for further discussion on the outstanding issues in the Memorandum of Action of February 7 2019,” he added.
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