The two weeks warning strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) continues nationwide as all entreaties made by the leadership of the House of Representatives to suspend the industrial action proved abortive.
The tripartite negotiation between Federal Government’s team and ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) which was chaired by Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila lasted for about one hour, as ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi offered to provide alternative free platform to the $140 million loan obtained to develop the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform.
Prof. Ogunyemi who argued that the 2 weeks warning strike is not a fresh initiative said: “Talking about the legality of the action, we are saying that they are not unaware of what was going on. Again, January this year, we had the privilege of meeting with the President and the Minister of Labour and Education were there. We left that meeting with the impression that there should be follow up action on our demands because the President told the Minister of Education that he has a lot of work to do.
“We want to acknowledge that the Minister of Education has met with us three times and that resulted in the resumption of the suspension of the renegotiation of our 2009 agreement. If we signed an agreement in 2009 and ten years after, that agreement has not been fully implemented, I think we should all be worried. By July, IPPIS suddenly became an issue.
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“It was 2013 that this (IPPIS) platform was first brought to us and we told them why it will not work and they suggested that we set up a joint committee so that we work out something that could address the uniqueness of the universities and we are in the process of doing that.
“But they never came back to us until July last year and we still told he something and they said we should set up committee again and we did. But they were not going to listen to us because they had concluded on what they were going to do.
“Let me place on record that they are implementing IPPIS in Nigeria with a loan of $140 million. We are saying that as scholars, if they give us the chance, we will give them an alternative that will cost them no kobo. It is very simple. They want to come with a platform that will centralize the payroll system. Universities do not work like that. Universities are universal centres of learning and research. We attract scholars from different parts of the world.
“IPPIS is saying that we should have nothing to do with them and what that means to us is that you want to localize us. They tried this in Ghana and it didn’t work. We have challenged the exponents of IPPIS to tell us any part of the world where IPPIS is applied to the universities, but they have not been able to give us an example.
“It is in the interest of this country that we don’t allow the Minister of Finance to impose IPPIS on the universities. We don’t care about the figure they bandied, but we are saying that it is no a matter of population, but a matter of what is reasonable and what works elsewhere.
“When it is convenient for us, talk about best global practices. Let them tell us the best global practices that informed IPPIS. IPPIS will shut the door against foreign scholars, against contract officers, contract researchers that we need most dearly. We are opening the universities every day.
While giving the government’s position, Minister of State for Labour & Employment, Barr. Festus Keyamo who commended the Speaker’s leadership intervention in the lingering crisis, explained that the IPPIS was designed to fight ghost workers, corruption and other menace in the public service.
“ASUU in our previous discussion have expressed their concern about their peculiar nature of its members, we have lecturers who go to other universities as visiting lecturers and all that. And they get allowances there. Government has said that they will not be denied all of the allowances.
“We will create separate portals for allowances, there will be a separate portal for salaries, so you have no fear about allowances. It’s just that the BVN will not pay twice for one purpose on one portal but on seperate portal.
“That has been done to Doctors, doctors also receive salaries, they receive other allowances too. That has been done and doctors have since complied. ASUU members 97% have complied, so we are worried about the leadership of ASUU and why they have taken this position.
“Like I said the IPPIS they are fully covered and we expect them to join hands with government to fight corruption and ghost workers so that we can free-up funds for infrastructural development in this country. So it’s our appeal to them to please cooperate in this direction,” Barr. Keyamo urged.
The Minister who argued that the 2 weeks warning was illegal as it contravenes the provisions of section 42 of Trade Dispute Act, LFN, 2014, which provides that ASUU should give a 15 day notice of any strike they intend to embark upon to government.
“The ministry of labour even their own employers, the ministry of education or any government department I’m the ministry did not receive any notice of strike by ASUU in line with section 42 of the Trade Dispute Act. So, first of all, this warning strike, strike is a strike, let’s clear that; because withdrawal of service even if it is for 2 days is a strike and so it must comply with the provisions of the law.
“First of all, this strike is an illegal strike because they have not complied with the provisions of the law. And because of that, because there was no notice of the strike, government is not officially aware of the grievance of ASUU. There are reports in the papers of course, but it won’t be responsible of government to now take the newspaper reports as a guide in a very important matter like this involving very important association like ASUU and the welfare of our children across the country.
In his intervention, Speaker Gbajabiamila alleged that the strike has attendant consequences that could only be imagined, noting that Nigerian students should not be allowed to face disruption in their academic pursuits, just as he frowned at the lackadaisical attitude of Federal Government towards the implementation of the agreement since 2009.
While urging ASUU to bend over backward and support any government’s efforts at fighting corruption in the country through the implementation of IPPIS, Hon. Gbajabiamila admonished the Union to put on hold the ongoing two weeks warning strike.
“We’ve tried severally to see that the country avert strikes in this country, and we’ve achieved that with medical doctors and electricity workers. It doesn’t speak well of the country when it becomes perennial that we talk of strikes. We should try and rise above everything and put the lives of our children first. Education is at the front burner of our agenda, and we’ll do everything to achieve that.
“On the 2009 agreement, there has to be something called sanctity of agreement. There are situations where agreements become impossible to implement not for a fault of government.
“If you have an agreement and there’s dwindling revenue, how does the government respect that? But I’ll blame that on the part of government, and we’re a part of government, even though we didn’t sign an agreement with ASUU.
“On the issue of IPPIS, I’ve heard and read your position. Your union is even divided on this. Much as you argue that you can’t be part of IPPIS, we live in a country governed by laws. We may not like a law or policy, but as part of government, we should respect that.
“If government comes up with a policy for good, we should support that and be part of it. Honestly, much as you may have a point, I think the optics may not be for you.
“If the National Assembly is to be captured under IPPIS, and we as members of the National Assembly say no, what will the public, including ASUU, say? If ASUU can come up with excuses, others too may do that,” the Speaker noted.