IPPIS: SSANU Joins ASUU’s Nationwide Strike

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)  has withdrawn its support for the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Speaking via an official statement, the Unversity staff were angry because of some alleged irregularities observed in the payment of February salaries to its members by the federal government via the use of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The group advised the government to either urgently address its concerns or revert to the use of the abandoned Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

Salaam Olayiwola, SSANU’s national public relations officer, said the union’s experience with the IPPIS ⁠—⁠ weeks after it had agreed to enroll in the payroll system in tandem with the federal government’s directive.

He said it was “shocking” that their first taste of the platform was “totally different” from what was promised — despite assurances by the government with regard to addressing the grey areas it had earlier identified.

While accusing the government of breach of trust, Olayiwola said that SSANU members are “groaning from the anomalies” witnessed in their salaries in a development that caused them “great hardships” they never bargained.

“This is totally unacceptable! The recent development has shown, despite our attempts to test otherwise, that the government can never be trusted,” he said.

“We had keyed into IPPIS with an understanding that all the peculiarities in the university system, particularly pertaining to our members, would be addressed ⁠— especially the issues of allowances, appointments, increments, and third party deductions among others.

“We do not blame our lecturer counterparts, ASUU, for resisting the IPPIS from the beginning. We demand that the accountant-general of the federation reverts us to the GIFMIS platform, which was working seamlessly before IPPIS was introduced.”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had earlier refused to enroll in IPPIS, proposing an alternative software named the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).