The Federal Government has issued new guidelines outlining the process for federal tertiary institutions to transition out of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.

The move, aimed at granting these institutions more autonomy and improving efficiency in payroll management, follows approval from the Federal Executive Council earlier this year.

In a circular dated October 8, 2024, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, provided details of the transition plan.

According to the circular, the payroll for October 2024 will still be processed through the IPPIS platform, but starting in November, institutions will handle their payroll independently.

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation’s IPPIS department will verify these records, and payments will be made via the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System.

Madein emphasised the importance of adhering to the new guidelines, stating, “The payrolls for October 2024 for the tertiary institutions shall be processed on the IPPIS platform while that of November and December 2024 shall be processed by the institutions, checked by OAGF IPPIS, and payment made through the GIFMIS platform.”

To ensure a smooth transition, FTIs must complete and submit GIFMIS Enrolment Forms by October 21, 2024.

These forms enable access to the Personnel Cost Budget Line on the GIFMIS platform.

Institutions are instructed to submit these forms at the AGF’s headquarters in Abuja or any Federal Pay Office nationwide.

Also, institutions must validate and upload the bank account details of their employees onto the GIFMIS platform by the same October 21 deadline.

Madein stressed that this is crucial for maintaining uninterrupted salary payments after the exit from IPPIS.

The circular also directed institutions to compile any outstanding promotion and salary arrears for submission to the Budget Office of the Federation for resolution.

Highlighting the significance of the new measures, Madein said, “All tertiary institutions are enjoined to comply with these operational guidelines and other extant rules and regulations. The accounting officers are to ensure that the content of this circular is brought to the attention of all concerned for strict compliance.”

This transition has been welcomed by academic unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities which had previously criticized IPPIS for delays in payments and incorrect deductions.

They see the new arrangement as a positive step towards restoring autonomy to tertiary institutions in handling their personnel and payroll functions.

The move from IPPIS, initially implemented to streamline payroll processes and improve accountability, is expected to introduce more flexibility through the GIFMIS platform.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a total of 28 suspected internet fraudsters, popularly known as ‘Yahoo boys’ in Edo and Akwa-Ibom states.

The suspects were arrested on Monday after a separate sting operation conducted on their hideouts following an intelligence report on their alleged fraudulent activities.

Thirteen of the suspects were arrested in the Nwaniba area of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while 15 were nabbed in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

A statement on Tuesday by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said items recovered from the suspects in Akwa-Ibom include four cars and six laptops, among others.

He said, “Items recovered from them include, Lexus 350 saloon car with registration number BGK 698 SU Abia, Lexus 350 saloon car with registration number ABC 573 BC, Toyota Camry V6 car with registration number, UYY 888 HR Akwa Ibom, Toyota Corolla car with registration number, KTM 613 AA Akwa Ibom, six laptop computers and 20 smartphones.”

In Edo operations, he stated, “Items recovered from them include four exotic cars, laptops and phones. The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are completed.”

The anti-graft agency, in a statement on its page on X.com, stated that 44 suspected internet fraudsters were arrested in Enugu and Anambra states.

The suspects were apprehended at various locations in Enugu and Anambra states during the early hours of Saturday, September 28, 2024, and Sunday, September 29, 2024, respectively.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said that Nigeria needs to stop mortgaging crude oil to ensure the availability of feedstock for local refineries.

Dangote, who spoke at a summit organised by the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria in Lagos, said it was unfortunate that while countries like Norway are putting oil proceeds into a future fund through their national wealth funds, Nigeria and African countries are spending oil proceeds from the future.

“To ensure sufficient feedstock availability we will need to stop mortgaging crude. It is unfortunate that while countries like Norway are putting oil proceeds into a future fund through their national wealth funds, in Africa, we are spending oil proceeds from the future today,” he stated.

On October 4, 2024, The PUNCH exclusively reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had pledged 272,500 barrels per day of crude oil through a series of crude-for-loan deals totalling $8.86bn.

The report stated that pledging 272,500 barrels daily meant that about 8.17 million barrels of crude would be used for different loan deals by the national oil firm on a monthly basis.

This, it said, was according to an analysis of a report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the NNPC’s financial statements.

On Tuesday at the event, Dangote, who was represented by the Group Executive Director, Mansur Ahmed, said the country must also prioritise the implementation of the domestic crude.

“We will also need to prioritise the implementation of the domestic crude supply obligation. We will need to expand crude production capacity to support demand from the refinery,” he submitted.

He also revealed that the company built the 650,000 barrels per day capacity Dangote refinery In Lagos without any incentive from the government.

“We built the Dangote refinery without a single incentive from the government. However, to achieve the vision of turning Nigeria into a refining hub for the region, investors need to be incentivised,” he stated.

Dangote maintained that 1.8 million barrels of new refining capacity is coming on stream in the next three years in Kuwait, China, and Bahrain.

On the other hand, he said Europe is tightening environmental standards while Holland and Belgium have banned exports of low-quality petroleum products from their hubs, stressing that these low-quality products used to be destined for Africa.

Quoting a report, Dangote mentioned that several refineries across Europe and China, with a total capacity of 3.6 million barrels per day are likely to be shut down over the next couple of years.

He said, “It was recently in the news that Scotland’s only refinery will be shut down next year. Shell is converting the 7.5 million tonnes per annum refinery in Germany to a lubricating plant.

“So, the opportunities are there. Africa imports about 3 million barrels per day of petroleum products. About half of this volume is imported by countries along the coast from Senegal to South Africa.

“These same countries produce over 3.4 million barrels of crude per day, which indeed highlights the problem of the dimension of excess crude production capacity without refining capacity. The imports come from Europe, Russia, and other parts of the world.

“So to grab this opportunity, we will need to build 1.5 million barrels per day of additional refining capacity. This would not be an easy feat, and strong support from the government and cooperation between stakeholders would be essential.”

This came as the Federal Government announced that it has officially designated the Dangote refinery as the exclusive supplier of jet fuel or Jet A1 for Nigerian airline operators.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, during an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday.

“The airline operators just met recently. With my blessing, it’s a decision from the airline operators in Nigeria that they should only buy from Dangote refinery Jet A1,” Keyamo said.

“You can see that yesterday we started the naira-for-crude purchase with Dangote. It’s all naira, no dollar component,” he added.

Keyamo further explained that sourcing jet fuel from Dangote would protect airline operators from the volatility of international oil prices, ultimately lowering their operational expenses.