#Schoolsreopening: ASUU Lays Fresh Demand Before Federal Government

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has laid fresh demands before the federal government before academic activities can resume in Nigerian Universities.

This was disclosed by the National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, during a press conference held at the Gwagwalada campus of the University of Abuja.

Naija News recalls universities in the country have been on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the ASUU strike.

The academic union has now declared that its members will not return to the classrooms except the government meets all of its demands.

As part of its demands, Prof Ogunyemi disclosed that ASUU has unveiled and presented the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as an alternative to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) introduced by the Federal Government.

He added that the software has been demonstrated to the Minister of Education and senior management staff of the Ministry of Education, including the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abdulrasheed Abubakar, on Monday.

“It is our sincere hope that the government would not renege on its promise because the benefits of UTAS to the university system (both public and private) cannot be found in any other software in Nigeria today. Now that the union is close to meeting the government’s demand on an alternative to IPPIS, it is our sincere hope that the substantive issues in the ongoing strike action would be given the desired attention,” he noted.

He also noted that the body wants the five months’ salaries of its members at the University of Maiduguri and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, and other institutions that are still withheld by the Accountant-General of the Federation on account of non-registration on IPPIS to be paid to them.

“Thousands of other academics across the Universities are suffering the same fate. So, while we counsel that government at both the federal and state levels must meet the Taskforce specified guidelines for reopening of educational institutions, we insist that all the arrears of the withheld salaries of our members in federal and state Universities must be paid immediately to pave for further discussion on the outstanding issues in the Memorandum of Action of February 7 2019,” Ogunyemi declared.