Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) Branch, have protested against the continued use of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), dissolution of university governing councils and the general poor welfare of academic staff in Nigerian universities.
The protesting lecturers, led by ASUU-NAU chairperson, Prof. Kingsley Ubaoji and ASUU Owerri Zone Coordinator Prof. Dennis Aribodor, called for the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for the payment of salaries in the university system.
In a statement to newsmen, Prof. Ubaoji said IPPIS, which is currently in use for the payment of salaries of the university academic staff, has not only been a criminal process but a conduit pipe of corruption for some government officials.
He said: “The introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) has led to unacceptable inconsistencies, including the non-payment of salaries of bona fide academic staff for some years and months, and academic staff on sabbatical, adjunct, and other contractual engagements that make the academic system unique.
“People were employed for the past four years in some cases and nothing is paid to them as salaries up till today not minding their punctuality to work.”
During a press briefing which preceded the peaceful protest, Comrade Ubaoji complained that the promotion arrears for ASUU members are not paid as and when due and that it often takes about years for those promotions to be processed.
He also lamented that salaries of academic staff have been static and on the same structure for the past fourteen years despite the country’s increasing inflation rate, urging the government to compare the wages with counterparts in other African countries.
Expressing his dismay against the Federal Government’s insensitivity to Nigerian university’s funding, the ASUU Chairman called on the Federal Government to reverse the recently constituted governing Council of Nigerian Universities and the appointment of old politicians into the councils.
He said the Federal Government dissolved the federal university councils without due process and appointed very old politicians.
Ubaoji, who emphasised that the university governing councils are not retirement homes for old politicians, urged the Federal Government to reverse the appointment of very old politicians as members of the governing council of federal universities.
He said that those appointed to the Councils are very old politicians without knowledge of university administration. He also maintained that the university Council cannot be a dumping group for old politicians.
“Our union condemns the dissolution of governing councils without due process. Governing Councils are crucial for the governance and strategic direction of our universities. Therefore, the illegal and arbitrary dissolution of the Governing Council whose tenures have not ended undermines Nigerian universities’ autonomy and smooth functioning. This cannot be tolerated as it lays a very bad precedent. Even the membership of the said newly reconstituted Councils is problematic.
“A critical look at the list of the newly constituted Governing Council shows that it is made up of very old politicians who do not understand the academic system and its administrative processes.
“Our public universities should not be a retirement home for politicians. We therefore call on the Tinubu-led Government to do the needful by reversing its decision on the University Governing Council dissolution,” he said.
Ubaoji also stated that ASUU wanted the Federal Government to put a moratorium on creating more universities without substance.
He said FG cannot be creating more universities without adequate funding for the existing ones, calling on the government to put a moratorium on creating more universities without substance.
“Our union maintains that the proliferation of public universities without provisions for adequate funding and infrastructure does not auger well for our university system” he stated.
Ubaoji said the union has observed the failure of Tinubu’s administration to engage fully with ASUU to address all outstanding issues and urged him to implement the Prof. Nimi Briggs Report as well as the 2009 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.
He further called on FG to look into the government’s Visitation Panels to Nigerian universities and implement the recommendations.
