ASUU mobilises members for showdown with FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is gearing up for another confrontation with the federal government over planned imposition of integrated personnel payroll system (IPPIS) on its members.

The showdown comes on the back of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that workers not on the IPPIS would no longer receive salary.

The union leaders called for an emergency national executive council meeting where it reached a conclusion that the leadership at university levels should begin mobilisation of members for an action against the federal government.

Deji Omole, the chairman, ASUU University of Ibadan chapter, on Sunday, said the union is not against accountability but will not allow the government to violate existing laws and autonomy of the university.

Omole also frowned that despite ASUU’s offer to help the government design the appropriate template that will factor in the peculiarities of university lecturers in the IPPIS, the Buhari-led administration appeared to have settled for the World Bank-designed exploitative template.

He said the government’s template was designed to suppress lecturers as it does not make provisions for payment of arrears of promotion, study leave allowance, responsibility allowance among others.

According to the union leader, the government template was designed to phase out university lecturers above 60 years against the new policy where professors retired at 70 years.

“Forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers is a violation of the university autonomy act. It is therefore illegal,” Omole said.

“While ASUU is not against accountability on the part of the university administrators government should not be allowed to destroy public universities in its purported claims of fighting corruption.

Our members should remained focus and committed in our struggles to protect public university education by resisting forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers.”