The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Sunday, declared that forceful imposition of Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS) on its members is a violation of the university autonomy act.
ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Professor Deji Omole, who made this declaration in a statement made available to DAILY POST, said that the union was not against accountability but will resist any attempt by the government to violate existing laws and autonomy of the University.
Omole, while speaking, said that any attempt to force the IPPIS on the lecturers is illegal.
He added that the union was poised for another showdown with the federal government over planned imposition of the IPPIS on her members.
DAILY POST gathered that the union leaders had summoned an emergency National Executive Council meeting where it was agreed that the leadership of the Union at university levels should begin mobilisation of members for an action against the Muhammadu Buhari Government.
It was learnt that President Mohammadu Buhari had reportedly directed that any worker not on the IPPIS would no longer receive salary.
But, Omole, while reacting said that, ASUU has offered to help the federal government design the appropriate template that will factor in the peculiarities of university lecturers in the IPPIS but the government seems bent on using the world-bank designed exploitative template.
He said that the template designed by government plans to enslave intellectuals as it does not make provisions for payment of arrears of promotion, study leave allowance, responsibility allowance among others.
According to him, the federal government template was designed to phase-out university lecturers who are above 60 years which is against the new policy where professors retire at 70 years.
Omole lashed out at the Buhari led government for consistently demonstrating his hatred for public funded universities by the introducing many illegal policies that negatively affected the smooth running of the universities.
The ASUU boss noted that FG has also failed to honour any policy that that will improve the quality education in Nigeria.
“Forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers is a violation of the university autonomy act. It is therefore illegal.
“While ASUU is not against accountability on the part of the university administrators government should not be allowed to destroy public universities in its purported claims of fighting corruption.
“Our members should remained focus and committed in our struggles to protect public university education by resisting forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers.”
