By Alao Abiodun
The Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) and federal government have disagreed over the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payment Information System (IPPIS).
ASUU rejected the system, saying IPPIS will cost federal universities their “hard-earned autonomy.”
Tired of dragging the matter with ASUU, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation last week said staff of any university that failed to enrol in IPPIS would not be paid October salary.
Meaning of IPPIS
The IPPIS Secretariat is a unit under the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation that pays the salaries of enrolled Federal Government employees directly to the bank. It also manages relevant deductions.
Information on the IPPIS website (https://www.ippis.gov.ng) states that the unit’s main mandate is to ensure payments are made timely, accurately and without fraud.
Such third party payments include the Federal Inland Revenue Service, State Boards of Internal Revenue, National Health Insurance Scheme, National Housing Fund, Pension Fund Administrator, Cooperative Societies, Trade Unions Dues, Association Dues and Bank Loans.
There are 459 Ministries, Departments and Agencies on IPPIS Platform as at 31st June, 2017.
The department is responsible for processing and payment of salary to over 300,000 Federal Government Employees across the 459 MDAs.
IPPIS aim is to enrol into the platform, all Federal Government MDAs that draws personnel cost fund from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The Academy Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strongly believes the introduction of Integrated Payroll and Personnel System (IPPIS) into federal universities will compound the problem of regular flow of fund and personnel management.
President Muhammadu Buhari had, during the 2020 budget presentation at the National Assembly on October 8, ordered all public sector workers must register for the IPPIS to save cost and fight corruption by blocking leakages in the federal government’s salary payment structure.
ASUU’s position on IPPIS
According to news reports, ASUU’s position on the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payment Information System can be summarised below:
- It violates existing laws and autonomy of the university
- It is World Bank-designed exploitative template
- IPPIS does not make provisions for payment of arrears of promotion, study leave allowance, and responsibility allowance, among others
- It is designed to phase out university lecturers above 60 years against the new policy where professors retire at 70 years.
- IPPIS is a one-size-fits-all approach tainted with corrupt tendencies
However, federal university workers have said they would automatically go on strike in November if the government carries out its threat to withhold their October salaries for refusing to enroll in the ‘new’ payment system.
