SSANU rejects IPPIS, says FG betrayed its trust
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has announced the withdrawal of its support for the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
According to a statement signed by SSANU spokesman, Abdulsobur Salaam, the decision became pertinent after their trust in the system was betrayed by the federal government as was reflected in the various irregularities noticed in the payment of February salaries of its members.
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He disclosed that all the concerns raised by the union and agreed upon by both parties during the consultation stage were ignored by the federal government, adding that the development has proven that they cannot trust the government.
“Kindly recall that we keyed into the IPPIS with an understanding that all the peculiarities in the university system, particularly pertaining to our members would be adequately addressed, especially the issues of allowances, appointments, increments and third party deductions.
“Various concerns were raised and our fears were allayed through various correspondences, meetings and practical sessions where the application was displayed and all issues brought forward were addressed.
“It was only after exhausting all the queries and getting satisfactory answers that our union, SSANU and its JAC counterpart NASU, decided to key into the platform in the overall interest of the system and our members.
“It is therefore, shocking to us that our first real taste of the IPPIS application is totally different from what was presented. All the concerns raised by our unions were not implemented and disregarded.
“Apart from the breach of trust which has now manifested, our members across the universities are groaning from various anomalies witnessed in their salaries thereby forcing them into great hardships which they never bargained for when they keyed into the IPPIS. As a leadership, this is totally unacceptable!
“The recent development has once again shown, despite our attempts to test otherwise, that government can never be trusted and as such, based on what we have been subjected to with the February salary, we do not blame our lecturer counterparts, ASUU for resisting the IPPIS from the beginning,” the union added.
While calling on government to stop henceforth, any payment to its members using IPPIS as well as subsequent reversal to the old platform of the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), the union also warned against the deployment for its members, a new model – the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) proposed by the ASUU.
