Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has explained why it rejected two payment platforms of the federal government and insisted on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, which it created.
ASUU had rejected the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, a platform which the federal government uses to pay no fewer than 789,000 of its workers in various sectors of the economy. ASUU members are currently on the platform.
The union had also rejected the Government Integrated Financial Management and Information System, GIFMIS, a platform which the federal government recently approved that ASUU payment should transit to, with effect from November.
In an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, yesterday in Abuja, the ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, said the union’s stance is in line with the autonomy of tertiary institutions.
According to him, UTAS conforms with the statutory provision that the university’s finances should be managed by its Governing Council.
“ASUU’s position is that the finances of the university should be managed by the Governing Council. That is what the law says. It does not say by the accountant-general’s office.
“Every year, the governing council directs vice chancellors to defend their budget at the National Assembly. When the budget is approved including salary, remuneration and overhead, it will go to the president for assent and it becomes law.
“That money should be released to the governing council to pay its staff. That is university autonomy as stipulated in the law,” he said
Osodeke stressed that universities should be given autonomy, to be able to plan for staff recruitment and how to pay their salaries.
He recalled that the union rejected IPPIS because its implementation does not only erode university’s autonomy, but meddles with its internal affairs and violates Section 24A of the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2003.
Osodeke also faulted the recent guidelines by the federal government detailing the process for the formal exit of Federal Tertiary Institutions, FTIs, from IPPIS.
In a circular issued on October 8, the Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein said the payroll for FTIs in the month of October will still be processed on the IPPIS platform.
She added that starting from November, the payroll will be processed by the institutions and then checked by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF’s IPPIS department.
According to her, the payment will be made through the GIFMIS platform.
Osodeke, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the directive, stating that the AGF was playing games with the union.
“GIFMIS is still an appendage of IPPIS. When you look at the circular, paragraph two says after universities have finished preparation, it will still come to OAGF IPPIS, for verification before it is paid by GIFMIS, which means nothing has changed.
”As at now, no university knows who is being paid what. IPPIS has been paying people who have been sacked, people who are non-staff and those who have left the university system.
“Vice chancellors cannot discipline any erring official. Even when you are being disciplined, IPPIS or GIFMIS will still be paying your salary and that is what we are saying,” he said
Osodeke said the insinuation in certain quarters that ASUU is insisting on UTAS, its own developed solution, to shield lecturers teaching in more than one institution, was misconceived
According to him, the establishment Act of the university permits lecturers to teach in two institutions, but with laid down guidelines
“As stipulated by the law, a lecturer can serve as adjunct in another university, they can also work as part time in another university.
“They can serve as visiting professor in another university and this is the practice all over the world.
”For example, if you have a professor who is highly knowledgeable in a particular field working in one university and another university has no one to handle such programme, what will they do?
“That university will approach the other and appeal to the lecturer to come and teach their students on part time basis, which might be once or two times in a month.
”The institution is not expected to pay full salary to the lecturer, but allowances for the part time job. That is what it is. It is in the law and it is all over.”
Osodeke also explained that lecturers go on sabbatical; meaning, a lecturer, who has taught for six years, could apply for one year leave to go to other university or institution to teach.
According to him, it is not a new development, but the only caveat is that the maximum number of university a lecturer can practice such is two. Teaching beyond two institutions is tantamount to breaking the law.
The ASUU president noted that the lack of exchange of knowledge by lecturers from one institution to another is partly responsible for the low ranking of Nigerian universities in the global ranking assessment.
Osodeke also described as misleading, the claim by the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, that UTAS had failed three integrity tests. (NAN)
