The Federal Government says its insistence on members of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) producing their Bank Verification
Number (BVN) for the payment of their withheld two months will expose
those with multiple jobs.
ASUU members, who are currently on an
indefinite strike, on Wednesday rejected the demand by the Federal
Government to produce their BVN before the payment of their February and
March salaries.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday
approved the payment of the withheld two months salaries of ASUU members
who refused to enrol on the Integrated Payment Payroll Information
System (IPPIS).
In a swift reaction, ASUU explained that the
Federal Government does not require lecturers’ BVN to pay the two months
withheld salaries.
The Federal Government through the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono told Daily Sun
that the affected ASUU members were not asked to enrol in the IPPIS
before being paid their February and March salaries.
Echono
explained that the affected lecturers were only asked to provide their
BVN to their vice-chancellors, adding ”truth is finally coming out. Why
are they afraid of BVN? Because all payments to a single lecturer
through multiple accounts with different universities will be linked and
traced through BVN.
“Those working in three, four or five
universities and still claiming allowances for excess workload in their
parent university will be exposed. This is the crux of the matter. It is
about transparency and accountability period. Ask them about
moonlighting by their members and draw your own conclusions.”
ASUU
Lagos Zone Coordinator Prof Olusiji Sowande confirmed that VCs of the
concerned federal universities were directed to collect BVN from ASUU
members who have not been paid the February and March.
According
to him, the salaries of lecturers in federal universities are usually
paid without BVN and he wondered why the government is demanding for it,
stating that the intention is to gather information about lecturers
that rejected the IPPIS.
Some of the vice-chancellors confirmed
to our correspondent the directive to demand lecturers’ BVN and also
acknowledged the opposition of ASUU to the use of BVN to pay the
withheld two months’ salaries.
ASUU University of Lagos chapter
in a circular to members said information from some branches indicated
that the payment is conditioned upon filling of IPPIS form and
submission of BVN.
“Our union’s opposition to the obnoxious and
retrogressive IPPIS enrollment for which we have been vindicated still
stands. While thanking our members for being resolute and steadfast in
the struggle for a better public university system in Nigeria, please,
be rest assured that sooner than later all our outstanding salaries
would be paid without any encumbrance,” Dr Dele Ashiru, ASUU UNILAG
added.
