INSTANT NEWS

President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for public universities currently under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to exit the payment platform. The Minister of Education, Prof. Mamman Tahir, revealed this development shortly after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Tinubu.

Providing further clarification on this presidential directive, Minister of Information and National Orientation Muhammed Idris explained, "Today, the universities and other tertiary institutions have gotten a very big relief from the integrated payroll and personnel information system." He emphasized that the clamor for exemption from IPPIS by university authorities and other tertiary institutions has been addressed.

The Federal Executive Council has officially approved the removal of universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education from the IPPIS. Going forward, these institutions, as highlighted by the Minister of Education, will manage the payment of their personnel independently, marking a significant shift from reliance on the IPPIS system. This decision is expected to offer more autonomy to universities and other tertiary institutions in handling their financial processes.

The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), was engulfed in sorrow and frustration as students staged a protest on Friday in response to the unexpected demise of Ayomide Akeredolu, a 500-level student of the institution. The untimely passing of Akeredolu prompted grieving students to take to the streets, blocking the bustling Akure-Ilesa highway and causing significant disruptions to vehicular movement. The resultant traffic snarl persisted for hours, a visible representation of the collective grief and demand for answers.

Akeredolu, a well-liked figure among his peers, tragically collapsed in his dormitory located in Akindeko Hall. His collapse occurred just days before his final examinations were scheduled to take place. Despite swift efforts to assist him, including rushing him to the University Health Centre, medical personnel at the facility declared him deceased. The news of Akeredolu's unexpected passing reverberated through the university campus, igniting a wave of protest as students sought to express their sorrow and raise questions about the circumstances surrounding his death.

An eyewitness to the distressing events recounted, "Around 8:30 pm, we brought him to the health centre. However, upon arrival, there was a power outage. Despite the tireless efforts of the medical team, who employed CPR, administered oxygen, and injections, the power supply remained disrupted throughout the course of treatment."

Addressing the situation, the university's Director of Corporate Communication, Adegbenro Adebanjo, issued a statement to provide clarity. He emphasized, "In response to certain perceived issues concerning services at the University Health Centre, students embarked on a protest on Friday, August 25, 2023. It is crucial to note that the protest was not a direct outcome of the student's passing."

Adegbenro Adebanjo further detailed, "During a meeting with the university's management, convened at the Vice Chancellor's request, student representatives highlighted deficiencies in the service accessibility process at the health centre. These identified gaps will be subject to continuous evaluation, ensuring that corrective measures are rigorously enforced to meet student expectations."

The protest, fueled by grief and concern, serves as a poignant reminder of the deep connection that exists within university communities. As FUTA navigates this challenging period, the commitment to enhancing student welfare and service provisions is reinforced, aiming to address grievances and foster an environment where students' well-being remains paramount.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has advised the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, to with immediate effect, resign his position and return to farm.

ASUU gave this advice while reacting to a statement credited to Nwajiuba where he (Nwajiuba) told the striking lecturers to return to farm.

Our correspondent gathered that Nwajiuba had earlier urged university teachers under the umbrella of ASUU to consider farming as an alternative profession.

Nwajiuba, while participating on a television program, had suggested farming to the lecturers saying they cannot dictate how they should be paid to their employers.

ASUU, while reacting noted that the statement made by Nwajiuba is a reflection of his shallow understanding of the academic profession and a reflection of the low premium that the government he is serving placed on education.

ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Professor Ayo Akinwole said the Minister of State has “displayed his naivety on educational matters.

Akinwole said that the scarcity of farmers is a reflection of the failure of the government he is part of to make farming secured for legitimate farmers.

Akinwole asked Nwajiuba to resign his appointment and take farming as a worthy national service.

He said the union remained resolute not to pursue only welfare of its members while downplaying the infrastructure collapse and underfunding of public universities but decided to continue to fight parasites like Nwajiuba who preside over a Ministry where no Nigerian University is in the top one hundred in the world.

Akinwole stated that if the Muhammadu Buhari government is not paying lip service to education, he would not have consistently reduced budgetary allocation and funding to education since assumption of office.

He stated that public varsity lecturers are owed earned academic allowances from 2013 to date challenging the Minister of State for Education to declare if he has been owed allowances and how much since he assumed office.

“As Scientists, experts in Agriculture faculties continue to conduct research mainly with external funding or personal monies. But Nigerian government who failed to protect farmers and exposed Nigerians to excruciating poverty is not making use of research findings.

“If the Minister of State for Education is interested in farming, he should resign his appointment and stop displaying his cluelessness of the problems in the education sector. We are on a just fight to ensure that those in public offices become responsive and responsible to the masses they swore to serve. They must fund public education. We have been on the same salary since 2009. That is no longer sustainable.

“The universities are being run with personal sweats of lecturers while politicians siphon monies for personal aggrandisement. We cannot accept IPPIS that is against the laws of the land and which fails to recognise the uniqueness of academic profession and culture. We have brought an alternative using our members’ money. People like this Minister of State mirrors the disdain of the ruling class for the workers and people of the country”.

Actual resumption of academic activities in Nigerian universities may not take place after Federal Government issued directive for reopening of higher institutions next Monday. Issues of revitalisation of universities, Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), Earned Academic Allowances and inadequate funding may stall reopening.

Although the universities were shut in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had been on strike over government’s decision to implement IPPIS, a payroll system, which teachers considered a denigration of university autonomy. Government, on its part, has refused to pay them for many months until they willingly subscribe to the new platform.

ASUU president, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi said members would continue to stay away from classes until all pending issues were responsible.

Ogunyemi said since Federal Government’s implementation of IPPIS, payment to ASUU members had been haphazard and inconsistent, as lecturers were owed salaries, ranging from three to eight months.
ASUU also accused the Federal Government of non-remittance of five months dues of the union to its purse.
It said the Federal Government between February and June this year deducted check-off dues on its behalf and refused to remit same.

ASUU Chairman at the University of Ibadan, Professor Ayo Akinwole, alleged evil conspiracy among the ruling elite to wipe out public university education, which caters for more than 90 per cent of Nigerian students, to elevate private universities owned by the elite and their collaborators.

He said that the union had been on strike for over six months to draw government’s attention to the implications of criminal negligence of funding public universities in the light of rising insecurity and other social problems.

Akinwole declared that government’s plan to use salary stoppage to punish university lecturers for being concerned with the parlous state of affairs in the nations’ tertiary education had failed, as members were resolved to ensure that government becomes responsive and responsible.

He maintained that, while the Union was ready to discuss outstanding issues on implementation of the February 2019 MOA signed with ASUU and other conditions of service, Federal Government had not been forthcoming but had resorted to propaganda against the union.

Akinwole also denied the claim that ASUU would call off its strike as claimed by the Labour and Employment Minister, Dr Chris Ngige He added that while the lecturers are ready to work, they would not do until government fully attends to all demands, including immediate implementation.

“As of today October 4, 2020 ASUU members are being owed three months salaries.

In some universities, our members have not received salary for up to six months. Federal Government, through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, has criminally withheld five months (February-June, 2020) Check-Off deducted from our members’ salaries without remittance to the union.

“FG has forcefully enlisted our members on the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme and has consistently been illegally deducting money for this from our members’ salaries.

“Our ongoing total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action would continue if this propaganda and lies against ASUU by appointees and representatives of the Federal Government like the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige persists,” he said.

While ASUU laments non-payment of salaries, the breakaway faction of the union, Congress of University Academics (CONUA), said members’ salaries had been paid up to date and are ready to resume if all necessary COVID-19 safety guidelines were put in place.

THIS came as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) today (Monday) begins a 14-day warning strike over government’s failure to implement agreements reached with members.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had last Friday directed tertiary institutions to resume on October 12, with a caveat that each school would determine its own opening schedule.

But Ogunyemi insisted that members of the union, who had been on strike since March, would not resume work until their demands were met.

He stated that government had failed to put in place the minimum COVID-19 safety requirements across public schools, wondering how students and lecturers would be able to maintain physical distancing considering the state of lecture rooms and hostels in those institusector“Government,” he said, “is free to reopen its institutions but our members reserve the right to insist that, until and unless what is due to them are paid, and other conditions for restoring the university are met, they are not going back.

“I don’t know how many of our public universities can guarantee social or physical distancing, which is essentially about facilities. Do we even have hostels in those universities? Where we have hostels, the rooms that some of us occupied in the 80s and early 90s meant for four students are now being occupied by 12 students and they are sleeping in shifts. So, what are we talking about here?

“The real issue about universities is about facilities. Have they expanded what they have?  See the way they constructed emergency isolation centres; see the billions that went into that. They could raise emergency funds to address the rot in the health sector, but ASUU has been talking about emergency in the education sector since 2012, yet government has not deemed it fit to talk of emergency fund in the educatinstitusector on.

The ASUU chief said the country was in dire need of research and development, and the only way to actualise it would be to invest in the sector.

Ogunyemi described the IPPIS scheme as a fraud, which ASUU would resist.

He said an alternative payment platform developed by the union, University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) was ready and had been tested at the Ministry of Education, wondering why the Accountant General would withhold salaries of ASUU members.

Ogunyemi said: “The Accountant General of the Federation has decided to withhold the salary of our members, ranging from three to eight months. Some were paid February and March, while others were not even paid. Some were paid March and June while some members did not receive anything. Those paid were given amputated salaries, no clear explanations for what they were paid.

The ASUU chief listed the demands of the union to include renegotiation of the Memorandum of Agreement reached with the union in 2013, payment of earned academic allowances, revitalisation of universities, proliferation of universities as well as funding.

National Coordinator, Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Dr Niyi Sunmonu, said although their salaries were being paid as and when due, the union members would resume once coronavirus safety guidelines are met in all the institution.

The Ekiti House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the bill for the upgrading of the State College of Education to the University of Education, Science and Technology.

The bill was unanimously passed at Tuesday’s plenary in Ado-Ekiti, presided over by the Speaker, Mr Funminiyi Afuye.

The passage of the bill followed the submission of the report of the House Committee on Education, Science and Technology headed by Mrs Kemi Balogun.

According to the report, read by Balogun, the Transitional Provision of Section 38 would give room to the existing students of the College of Education, lkere-Ekiti after the effective date of this law to complete their course of study as stipulated.

The report after ratification by the Committee of the Whole House, was unanimously passed.

The executive bill is titled, “A Bill for a Law to provide for the Establishment, Incorporation, Constitution, Powers, and Functions of the University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti and Other Matters Therewith.”

NAN reports that earlier at the Tuesday’s plenary, Under Matter of Urgent Public Importance, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, (Ikole 1, APC) called the attention of the House to the gradual extinction of the Yoruba Language.

He called for advocacy and legislation to save the Yoruba Language, which he described as the identity of Western Nigeria.

Also, Mr Adeyemi Ajibade, (Moba 1, APC) Under Matter of Urgent Public Importance, drew the attention of the House to the non-availability of a telecommunications network in Osun-Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area of the state.

Ajibade called on the state government to prevail on the telecommunications network providers to extend their services to the community of over 30,000 dwellers.