Cross River, Oyo, Ogun, Others Says Their Universities Can’t Join IPPIS strike

Cross River, Oyo, Ogun, and Akwa Ibom state governments have said lecturers of state universities cannot  join the planned strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities over the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System.

State governments, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Monday, said the IPPIS issue was purely a matter  between the Federal Government and lecturers in its universities.

They said state university lecturers should not subject their students to hardship by   dabbling in an issue between the Federal Government and its employees.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on Monday that ASUU had directed its members to begin a strike action immediately the Federal Government failed to pay their January salaries.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Hammed Idris, had in a letter last week, asked the Ministry of Finance not to release January salaries to universities. He said payment of the salaries would be made through the IPPIS platform.

Following a directive by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, (retd.), Idris between October 25 and November 7 last year, deployed the IPPIS officials to federal universities and directed all workers in the institutions  to enrol for the IPPIS.

But ASUU opposed the directive on the grounds that the IPPIS negated autonomy of the universities.

Both the FG and ASUU failed to resolve their differences when the union met the President three weeks ago, as Buhari advised the lecturers to enrol for the IPPIS.

PUNCH