The Federal Government has failed to implement its decision to exempt university staff from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) 10 months after the announcement.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, had announced in December 2023 that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the exemption of university staff from IPPIS.
However, the directive is yet to be implemented, resulting in non-payment of salaries to new staff and posing challenges to academic activities in tertiary institutions.
According to a source, the non-implementation of the directive has led to difficulties in paying salaries to new staff employed by most academic institutions.
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) attributed the delay to the need for further guidance from the Office of the Head of Service and the Federal Ministry of Finance on who should be removed from the IPPIS payroll.
An inter-agency committee was set up last month to work towards implementing the government’s directive.
The committee is expected to audit the university personnel to ascertain the actual number of staff to be exempted from the system.
The Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Mr. Bawa Mokwa, confirmed that the treasury was awaiting further guidance from the relevant authorities.
Mokwa said the OAGF could not proceed with the exemption order until the audit was completed.
The development has raised concerns among university staff, who have been pushing for the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) instead of IPPIS.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has argued that IPPIS undermines university autonomy and does not accommodate the unique nature of academic work.
The union has proposed UTAS as an alternative system that better addresses the peculiarities of the university system.
