The University lecturers have commended the Federal Government for its thoughtfulness in exempting the universities and other tertiary institutions in the country from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform, stating that universities can now enjoy their autonomy.
Lecturers who spoke to the Independent Newspaper commended the initiative, stating that it is a welcome development and a right step in the right direction.
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Professor Kayode Adebayo, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch lauded the initiative of the FG, saying that the agitation and position of ASUU borders on the autonomy of the university system in the country.
“You will recall that the court has ruled that Universities should be removed from the IPPIS. The IPPIS violates the autonomy of the university. It is a welcome development and the right thing for the new government to do.
“It will rearrange the entire system because what we are facing now is a situation whereby we cannot even run the institution as it is supposed to be. The power to manage the university financial system is vested in the Council and the Autonomous Act of 20023 specifically states this. Anything contrary to the Act is null and void because keeping the university out of autonomy makes IPPIS an illegality.”
Prof Adebayo added that the exemption from the IPPIS would herald a big relief to the system because it is a welcome development.
Also, Dr. Tunde Akanni, an associate professor of journalism at the Lagos State University said it is a most commendable development; that it shows how ineffectual, dictatorial and insensitive the Buhari person and his government was.
“Why should it take the government over one year to appreciate simple common sense? How can anyone with modesty render the entire university system of a nation redundant for sheer fraudulent ego?
Dr. Raphael Olugbenga Abimbola, Ag. Head, Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State in his view said that the IPPIS is a good programme if well managed.
He said that the university community is different and that is why the staff union led by ASUU has been clamoring for the university to be exempted because the university is supposed to be autonomous.
He said now that the university lecturers have been exempted, it will help the university to maintain its autonomy.
“Since IPPIS started you will see that most lecturers does not want to do their sabbatical in federal universities because if somebody is at the university of Lagos, it cannot go to university of Ibadan to do sabbatical, because IPPIS cannot pay him twice but if somebody is in the university of Lagos he will prefer to go to a private university to do sabbatical where he can earn money for that one year.
“Now sabbatical lecturers that have deserted federal universities will return they will come back and do sabbatical with federal universities,”
Abimbola also said that each council will be able to do appointments, stressing that the IPPIS has made it very difficult for the council and the university management to recruit lecturers.
“It has been so ridiculous that most of these people are recruited from Abuja or you take permission from Abuja before you recruit and in some cases they will give you candidates from Abuja. Academics staff are not recruited based on man no man, they are recruited based on competence and expertise,” he said.
Also, Dr. Olalekan Hassan, Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, LASU said it is a welcome development and a right step in the right direction, stating that the university system has its peculiarity that is different from the normal civil service structure.