The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU after allowing its members to be captured in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, has made a u-turn, rejecting the platform and accusing the Federal Government of breach of trust
In a statement signed by COEASU National President, Nuhu Ogirima, the Union said it is reconvening its expanded National Executive Council, NEC meeting to deliberate on further necessary action on IPPIS and other lingering issues of industrial concern, including but not limited to the inconclusive renegotiation, the unfulfilled N15 billion needs assessment palliative and the sum of N2.5bn unpaid arrears of peculiar allowances.
Also read: FG rehabilitates internal roads in 43 tertiary institutions
COEASU said the implementation of IPPIS without capturing the agreed pecularities by both parties is a serious backstabbing and considers the Federal Government’s betrayal as unacceptable.
The statement says”…
The attention of the National Secretariat has been drawn to the payment of February 2020 salary to staff of the Federal Colleges of Education by the Federal Government and available information shows evidently that the peculiarities of the sub-sector, which stakeholders’ meetings with IPPIS office, prior to its implementation, harped on as the basis for rejecting the obnoxious pay platform, have not been reflected…”
The statement added that for the avoidance of doubt, the February salary paid by the Federal Government did not include the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance and Leave allowance to staff on Sabbatical.
It said in addition, deductions were made indiscriminately on all staff salaries, for the National Housing Fund which is a voluntary scheme to which most staff did not subscribe.
The statement accused government of making its own statutory deductions whereas the non-statutory deduction of staff necessary for their well-being, especially staff cooperative society contributions were not made.
COEASU added that sadly, pension and the imposed obnoxious tax deductions were effected on gross earnings of the lecturers which included non-taxable allowances as against the basic salary on which such deductions ought to be effected.
Also read: Unity Torch arrives Rivers State ahead of Edo 2020 Games
COEASU said “…The impunity with which FGN has engendered this anomaly goes to further heighten our fears and reinforces our concern over the wanton neglect of the Colleges of Education subsector by successive administrations peaked with the current government…
“….and for the avoidance of doubt, the Union, while reiterating the initial worries on the concern over the use of IPPIS in Colleges of Education system, as tertiary institutions, calls on Government, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in particular, to, as a matter of urgent concern, capable of disrupting the smooth running of the colleges, take steps to ameliorate the situation
COEASU’s threat is coming barely 24 hours to a rescheduled meeting between the Federal Government and striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU aimed at resolving the impasse over widespread rejection in tertiary institutions of the implementation of IPPIS
