We Can’t be Intimidated to Enroll in IPPIS, Says UNIBEN ASUU

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Benin (UNIBEN) chapter, has reiterated its unequivocal rejection of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), vowing that no amount of threat or blackmail would sway its resolve.

It said its position was in support of the decision taken at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union held a few days earlier.

UNIBEN ASUU made the declaration in a statement yesterday by its Chairman and Secretary, Dr. Monday Omoregie and Dr. F.C. Amaechina respectively, saying it’s disturbed “by the continuing charade of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation(OAGF) aimed at forcibly implementing the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System(IPPIS) in Nigeria federal universities.”

“We have equally come to the conclusion that it is the federal government’s ploy to renege on its agreement with our union in furtherance of its intent on abdicating its duty and responsibility to adequately fund education in Nigeria.

“In particular, we note that government is scheming to abandon the long overdue renegotiation of the ASUU-FGN 2009 Agreement and also avoid fully honouring the February 2019 Memorandum of Action (MoA) it freely signed with ASUU.

“And, for the umpteenth time, we restate our unequivocal rejection of IPPIS and vow that no amount of threat or blackmail will sway our resolve,” the statement added.

Based on this, ASUU said it has directed its members not to enrol into IPPIS.

Also, it unanimously aligned itself with the NEC declaration to call out its members on a nationwide strike if any member of the union is victimised for refusal to enrol into the IPPIS platform in the spirit of “an injury to one is an injury to all.”

Furthermore, UNIBEN said it identified with the decision of ASUU NEC to engage the federal government on the outstanding issues of the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement and the February 2019 MoA and has resolved to comply fully if ASUU is compelled to declare a nationwide strike should the federal government renege on the full implementation of any aspect of both the agreement and the MoA.

It called on all and sundry to join forces with ASUU “to salvage this nation from the stranglehold of this regime of insensitive leadership.”