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ASUU, Nigerian govt resume hostilities over IPPIS, governing councils
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the federal government may be heading for another showdown over an acceptable salary payment platform, as well as the constitution of new governing councils for the universities.
Last year, the Nigerian government announced it has exempted federal-owned tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and monotechnics, from the use of the Integrated Personnel Payment System (IPPIS) for the payment of their staff salaries and allowances.
The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, who announced the development while addressing State House correspondents following the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, said the new directive was to take immediate effect.
Mamman then said that the FEC observed that vice-chancellors of universities did not need to abandon their work to visit Abuja to process the salaries of their personnel as currently obtained.
However, DAILY POST findings showed that five months after President Bola Tinubu’s administration made the declaration, it’s yet to implement the new policy.
This is even as the Federal Government is said to have commenced plans to pay the salaries of lecturers in tertiary institutions through the Government Integrated Financial Management System, GIFMIS.
DAILY POST recalls that as an alternative to IPPIS, the union had suggested the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, for their payment instead.
The development implies that the government has ditched the UTAS proposed by the lecturers.
A lecturer at the University of Abuja told DAILY POST that nothing has changed in terms of the payment platform through which they receive salaries.
According to him, last month’s salary was paid via IPPIS.
He, however, noted that an addition of the word ‘new’ to IPPIS was the only change noticed when they received notification for payment of salary.
He said: “Yes, we are still being paid with IPPIS. They just added ‘new’ to it.
“That’s, if you get the alert, you will see ‘new IPPIS’. I think it’s the same platform. It’s just a matter of nomenclature. They just added ‘new’ to the IPPIS, but it is still the same.
“It’s also part of the agitation. I read a report today that they are going back to GIMFS. But it is just a normal report that they do write just like they said last year that they were withdrawing lecturers’ salary payment from IPPIS.
“Even the National Assembly said something to that effect, but it has never happened till now.”
In a message to DAILY POST, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, ASUU branch chairperson, Comrade Nobert Oyibo Eze, confirmed that the federal government was yet to effect the announcement it made about ASUU exemption from IPPIS.
“No, it hasn’t,” Eze said, indicating that no changes have been effected.
When pressed to speak more about the matter, Eze told our correspondent to reach him at a later time.
DAILY POST recalls that the deployment of IPPIS by the government was one of the contentious issues that led to prolonged industrial strike between the ASUU and the federal government, lasting about eight months in 2022.
ASUU had then on every occasion accused the government of tampering with the autonomy enjoyed by the universities.
It accused the office of the Head of Service of the Federation of taking over the work of the university governing councils and vice-chancellors.
The university workers had also complained of irregularities in the payment of its members’ emoluments, as some lecturers accused the government of shortchanging them.
Similarly, the University of Jos branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Tuesday called for immediate removal of its members from IPPIS as directed by the FEC since 2023.
The union also reiterated its call on the Federal Government to implement the nine demands presented to it.
The call was made by the UNIJOS branch of the Union during a peaceful protest in Jos, the state capital on Tuesday.
Presenting their letter of demands to the Vice Chancellor of the University, after a peaceful protest, Chairperson of ASUU-UNIJOS branch, Dr Jurbe Molwus, decried the inability of the government to fulfill the agreements reached with the union over the years.
ASUU demanded the immediate release of the Revitalisation Fund, immediate payment of salaries of members excluded or omitted from the payroll of the IPPIS.
“We demand the immediate removal of ASUU from IPPIS as directed by the Federal Executive Council since October, 2023.
“We call for the reinstatement of the Governing Councils of public universities that were illegally removed by the Bola Tinubu led government, in particular those whose tenure has not elapsed; they are free to constitute those who have exhausted their tenure,” the union demanded.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) says it has sealed off the Idera market in the Oshodi metropolis.
In a statement on Thursday, Ajayi Lukman, LAGESC spokesperson, said the agency sealed the market due to unhygienic practices and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, which contravened the environmental law of the state.
He said the measure was taken to enforce adherence to environmental cleanliness across registered markets in the state.
‘‘Our operatives stationed across the Oshodi division during routine market monitoring identified the filth, unhygienic practices, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse around the Idera Market area, which prompted us to seal off the market until further notice,” the statement reads.
Lukman quoted Olaniyi Cole, the corps marshal of the agency, as decrying the level of hygiene at the market, which could lead to an outbreak of diseases.
He said Cole frowned at the inability of the market leadership to provide a valid waste collection contract, which resulted in the heaps of refuse in the facility.
He added that the display of wares for sale on road setbacks, lay-bys, medians, verges, kerbs, street trading, and hawking remained banned in the metropolis.
The LAGESC corps marshal reiterated the ban on the sales, distribution, and usage of styrofoam in the state, noting that anyone found culpable would be punished decisively.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Hours to the Edo State governorship election, the guber candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP)Amb Osalumese Areloegbe on Thursday morning collapsed the structure for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Osarodion Ogie Esq.
Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Benin City, Areloegbe said his decision to collapse the structure for the PDP candidate was because he believed that Ighodalo had all it would take to govern the state to greater heights.
According to him, I urged all my followers and supporters to disregard any information that I have aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
“I am supporting Asue Ighodalo because he is competent, not that I am not competent but I believe Asue is on the forefront. That is my reason for supporting his candidacy.
“My party is aware because they have been having a series of negotiations for us to align with the APC, and I told them categorically that I am supporting PDP. My eighteen local government followers are in full support of my decision, I mean 100 per cent supporting the PDP candidate, Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie in this election.
“My choice for Asue Ighodalo is because, apart from myself, I see him as the next better candidate that I can support and I can put my weight on because he has the capacity, mentally, physically and otherwise to pilot the affairs of Edo State to greater heights.
“The national secretariat of my party, APP – they are in Abuja and I am in the state, and know much more of what is happening in Edo State. They are not here and don’t know what is going on here in Edo. And I am in a position to tell them what will be better for the Edo people.
“There is a parable that says, ‘You cannot shave a man’s head when he is not present’. I am here in Edo State and I know who to support and why I am supporting him. The national leadership might have taken a different tone, but this is what I and my followers have chosen.
“We had a series of other politicians who had made such decisions before. That is why I agreed with the support of my supporters to collapse my structure for the governorship candidate of the PDP Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie.”
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A resident of Ifetedo in Osun State, simply identified as Idowu, had reportedly died in an incident of collapse building that occurred in the town.
The collapsed structure was said to be a dilapidated building that suddenly caved in and killed the woman.
A resident of Ifetedo, simply identified as Ogunyemi, while speaking to The PUNCH on Thursday, said operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, responding to a distress call, were at the scene of the incident.
Some NSCDC operatives rushed to the scene after they were informed of the incident. They were joined by some other people in the community.
Idowu was the only person in the building when the incident happened. She was brought out dead from the rubble.
“The incident caused panic in Omiloode Area, where the building is located. The building that collapsed is a dilapidated structure,” Ogunyemi said.
Osun NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Kehind Adeleke, when contacted confirmed the incident, adding that the scene was immediately cordoned off by security men.
“An abandoned dilapidated building located along Omiloode Street, Ifetedo collapsed and killed one Mrs Idowu, who was said to be around the structure when the incident happened.
“The tragic incident occurred at about 17:30 hours on Tuesday.
“Officers and men of NSCDC Ife South Division, upon getting information rushed to the scene of the incident for rescue operation. But unfortunately, the woman had passed on. She was brought out of the rubble dead. The site was immediately cordoned off,” Adeleke said.
LASG shuts down Idera market over ‘environmental pollution
Hours to Edo guber polls, major opposition candidate crumbles structure for Ighodalo
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