Minister: FG on Verge of Removing Tertiary Institutions from IPPIS
Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The Federal Government has stated that it is on the verge of removing universities and other tertiary institutions from the payment platform — Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) — which had sparked intense protests from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in recent times.
The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, who spoke in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, disclosed that the removal of tertiary institutions from the IPPIS scheme is as good as done.
ASUU had reportedly issued a 21-day notice to the Federal Government threatening to embark on a fresh strike over the failure of government to implement past agreements, including the removal of universities from the IPPIS scheme.
In the interview, Sununu disclosed that although there was a delay in the implementation, the Ministry of Finance and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) are working in synergy to comply with the presidential directive on the matter.
President Bola Tinubu had, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of August 15, 2024, directed that the removal of the union and other tertiary institutions from the payment scheme should be implemented henceforth without delay.
On the issue of non-payment of salaries of
some lecturers, particularly in federal public universities for over one year, Sununu stated that the ministry was unaware of such a development.
“There was a delay in the process of the movement of tertiary institutions from IPPIS and just of recent, the president in the Federal Executive Council meeting directed that it should be implemented henceforth without delay.
“As at today, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation are working in synergy in order to comply with that with immediate effect. Therefore, removing tertiary institutions from IPPIS is as good as done,” he said.
The Federal Executive Council had in December 2023 separated the university system from its initial inclusion in the IPPIS scheme, and eight years down the line, implementation is yet to be effected.
