New Telegraph

ASUU strike fuelling #EndSARS protest, says FG

The Federal Government yesterday said the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was contributing to the heightening ENDSARS protest in the country, saying several undergraduates have joined the match. Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige, who made this known before stepping into a closed-door technical meeting with the leadership of ASUU yesterday in Abuja, also debunked reports in the media that government, had agreed to replace the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) with the University Transparency and Accountability System (UTAS).

Ngige, who said UTAS would only be applicable to university academic staff if it was eventually accepted by government, said it had been approved to undergo three credibility tests with the first test completed on October 14, 2020. ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who noted that the lecturers were willing to return to classes, accuser government of refusing to attend to its demands to push the tertiary education sector forward. Meanwhile, ASUU yesterday warned its members not to engage in any activity related to IPPIS, to avoid jeopardising the on-going engagement with the Federal Government on accepting UTAS.

The union noted that it was fully aware of the hardship the non-payment of salaries by the accountant-general and other forms of intimidation by over-zealous vice-chancellors had unleashed on its membership, and were leaving no stone unturned to redress the situation. “We have received information that IPPIS officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation will be visiting campuses as from Monday, October 19, 2020 for biometric data capture of academics.

“All ASUU members should have nothing to do with them. Fact-check by ASUU with the figures from the OAGF has proven the claim that our members are trooping to enrol in the IPPIS in Abuja as false. The enrolled number is inconsequential.

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