The Nigerian government has reached an interim agreement with
striking university lecturers to integrate the University Transparency
and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and
Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The IPPIS is the government’s accountability software that has been
made compulsory for all public institutions, mainly for personnel
payroll.
ASUU is opposed to the use of IPPIS for lecturers saying it does not
consider some of the peculiar operations of universities. The lecturers’
union then developed its own UTAS which it wants the government to
adopt for universities.
The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, announced the agreement after a four-hour meeting between both parties.
Mr Ngige said the two parties will reconvene on Monday after the ASUU
delegation deliberates with its National Executive Council (NEC).
“Both sides realised we are working for our country. ASUU already has
the University Transparency and Account System. We had a preliminary
agreement to accommodate the two systems. ASUU will have to get back to
its members and agree on how to couple the two systems. We will continue
the discussion after ASUU consults with its members and decision making
authority, we will meet on Monday or Tuesday,” Mr Ngige said.
Before the meeting went into the technical session, Mr Ngige said the
meeting was called because of the two-week warning strike declared by
ASUU. He said the union erred by not properly informing the government
of its decision to withdraw services as prescribed by the provisions of
industrial relations.
ASUU reacts
Also speaking, the National President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, said
the National Executive Committee of the union will review the conditions
for the integration of UTAS into IPPIS.
However, both parties did not reveal the conditions to the media.
He said the issues discussed came from outstanding issues which had tended to be overshadowed by IPPIS.
“From the discussion we had, we have agreed that we will go and
consult. We cannot pronounce on the proposals that came up until we
consult with our members. We will leave it there for now.”
When asked if the strike would be suspended, the ASUU president said
he could not make any pronouncement until he consulted with other
members.
In a speech he made before the technical session began, Mr Ogunyemi
told the minister that IPPIS was a distraction created by the government
to divert the union from its actual agitation. According to him, the
system would take Nigeria university system back for many years, adding
that it had become a feature of governance in Nigeria to watch situation
degenerate before looking for a solution.
“At the earlier meeting in the House of Representatives, it appeared
that it is a feature of Nigeria governance style that until there is a
fire somewhere, nobody will make an effort to avert the fire”.
“We recall that on February 7, 2019, we were here and we signed a
Memorandum of Action, there were items that were outlined, rules were
signed and time frame as attacked. We have written three letters in
respect of those items while we acknowledged that some of them were
activated even before we concluded the discussion then. But there were
key areas over which we have been raising issues. We were thinking that
we were going to trash those items that were outstanding until July
2019, when suddenly IPPIS was thrown at us,” he said.
“Let me state clearly that IPPIS for us was a distraction when it
came because in 2013, it was first introduced to us and we engaged
officers in charge then. By 2014 when we were almost coming to the point
of providing an alternative, government side withdrew and for five
years, we did not hear anything from IPPIS office until July 2019.
Suddenly, it appears IPPIS has been made the major subject of university
governance and staff unionism,” he said.
ASUU on Monday asked its members in federal
universities across the country to begin two weeks warning strike in
response to the government’s decision to stop the February salaries of
lecturers who have not registered on the IPPIS platform.
Thursday’s meeting is the first by both parties since the strike commenced.
Trend
In the 19 years since Nigeria returned to civil rule under the Fourth Republic, university teachers in the country have embarked on strike 14 times that saw them stay away from work for about 40 months.
The last strike by the teachers was in November 2018.
ASUU has been locked in a protracted dispute with the Nigerian
government over issues of poor funding of public universities. Every
time the dispute boiled over to strike by the teachers, negotiations
between the two parties always produced agreements.
However, the government’s failure to meet the teachers’ expectations
within the context of the agreements have been a primary reason ASUU has
been on strike almost every year since 1999.