ASUU to NASS: Resist FG’s directive on IPPIS

By Nwokolo, Abeokuta

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday urged the National Assembly to resist all attempts by the office of the Accountant – General of the federation to capture university lecturers’ wage into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

ASUU said it is not opposed to accountability and transparency in handling public funds, but shall resist whatever that seeks to violates its agreement with government or sets aside the enabling laws, regulations and statuses of the universities.

The ASUU Coordinator, Lagos Zone, Prof. Olusiji Sowande, who reads the position of the union at a press briefing in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, said a presidential directive or a government policy cannot take precedence over an extant law of the federation.

Sowande explained that the directive on IPPIS as it relates to the university lecturers, bordered on attempt to breach the ASUU-FGN of 1992, 2001 and 2009 agreements which received legislative backing of the National Assembly.

According to him, IPPIS if allowed in the universities, would totally breach of rule of law, constitutionalism and the principles of fundamental human rights and rule of law which the President himself swore to defend.

The ASUU Coordinator, Lagos Zone, therefore, called on the National Assembly to rise up to defend the union.

He said: “The presidential directive that all employees of federal government in MDAs that fails to enroll in IPPIS by October would not receive salary is not in line with the establishment laws of the universities and it is a plot to forcefully enroll lit members into IPPIS.

“It is our sincere belief that the President would not violate his oath of office to abide by the constitution and the law of the land when he stated during his swearing into office that ‘in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to the law.’ Therefore, where there is a conflict between the law and policy/directive, the law takes precedence.

“The intention of government through the office of the accountant general of the federation to forcefully enroll university staff into IPPIS without considering the peculiarities of the University and their enabling laws is not acceptable to our union and it is a glaring call for further crisis within the Nigerian University System. In addition, the deliberate truncation of the process of renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement is of great concern to our members. Government should not stretch our patience and understanding to the elastic limit.”

Also corroborating, the ASUU Chairman, University of Lagos (UNILAG) Dr. Dele Ashiru said government should resist the attempt to treat universities as government ministries and agencies.

Ashiru said: “One other issue we need to underscore is this attempt by government to treat universities as government ministries and agencies. Universities are non-government agencies and that is a bit about academic freedom. Universities all over the world ought to respond to the vicissitude of time in their respective environments.

“If universities are brought under the dictates of one Accountant general, whose qualifications can also be questioned, it then brings to question the whole talk about the freedom of universities to carry out its business without let or hindrance.

Read Also: ASUU, AGF trade words over planned enrolment in IPPIS

“At the soul of this struggle is the rabid determination by a draconian government to bring everything under its claws. For so long we have been challenging the question of over centralization in Nigeria.

“This is also another manifestation of government trying to overreach itself by bringing all government ministries, agencies, departments and now including autonomous universities under the direct control of one single individual who calls himself the Accountant general of the federation.

“A presidential directive or a government policy cannot supersede an extant law of the Federation. To allow that to happen is to encourage crippling fascism and dictatorship in the system.

“That is why ASUU is frontally, totally and absolutely against a draconian directive that seeks to erode a law properly passed by the national assembly. And that is also a challenge for constitutionalism in Nigeria.

“The National Assembly must rise in defense of the law they freely passed since 2003 (not) to allow an individual who superintends over corruption in Nigeria and is finding, scapegoats in those that dare to challenge the draconian policy.

“It’s a challenge to the National Assembly and our union is waiting to see how they rise to this occasion.

“To allow IPPIS to stand is a total abrogation of that law, a violation of constitutionalism and the principles of fundamental human rights and rule of law which the President himself swore to defend.”