Nduka Chiejina
The federal government has denied claims by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that it is implementing Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) with a $140 billion loan.
Reacting to the allegation, spokesman to the Minister of Finance, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, told the Nation that “no one knows where ASUU got that from.”
Though ASUU did not speak to source of the $140 billion loan, the university lecturers told the House of Representatives that the federal government was implementing the IPPIS with a loan.
Abdullahi stated that “the burden of proof is however on them (ASUU) to prove.”
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He urged the media to also investigate ASUU’s allegation in order to get to the bottom of the issue.
Attempts to get officials of the Office of the Accountant General (OAGF) to either confirm or deny the allegation were unsuccessful.
IPPIS director Mr Olufehinti Olusegun did not answer phone calls or reply messages sent to him.
The federal government and ASUU have been engaged in a long drawn out battle over the inclusion of tertiary institution lecturers in the IPPIS platform.
The federal government has twice reneged on its threat to withhold the salaries of university lecturers.
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