Overhaul Nigeria’s security architecture, ASUU tells FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency to overhaul the nation’s security architecture.

Addressing newsmen at Kogi State University Anyigba, the Nsukka zone, zonal coordinator, Dr Igbana Ajir said the poor situation had led to the emergence of sporadic regional security self-help outfits.

According to him, this is a sign of government failure to ensure social justice, wealth and employment creation and accountable, responsive and responsible governance at all levels.

On the present situation in universities, he said that the non-payment of academic staff salaries for the month of February 2020 and attempt to pay selected staff in the universities will further inflict suffering on the students, their parent and wards.

He called on all well-meaning Nigerians to stand and stop this grand design to scuttle the academic pursuit of poor children in the public universities in Nigeria.

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The union noted that the selective payment of February 2020 salary to some staff in federal universities has clearly shown deceit embedded in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

“The ridiculous figures called salaries do not make any meaningful sense to those who collected it. ASUU has warned about the main concern of IPPIS as a ploy to play on our intelligence and reduce our members to beggars of those who want to gain from the suffering of the workers.

“The refusal by the government to accept the alternative platforms, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution ( UTAS) which is being developed by our union and offered to the government at no cost, calls for serious concern,” he said.

He stressed that government has stopped the salaries of their members on account of non-enrollment in IPPIS which is obviously a fraudulent exercise meant to frustrate their members as the operators are purposively making things very difficult to their members.

On the Federal University Lokoja, Dr Ajir stated that the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Angela Freeman Miri has embarked on a destructive move to fight the union in the Branch.

He noted that the check-off dues deductions and remittances have been stopped since June 2019. He said this clearly with the aim of crippling the union.

“The University administration is openly supporting parallel-group perpetuating illegalities in the university in order to avoid being checkmated by the union. There is a general hostility to our members at the branch and total disregard to the National officer who attempts to interact and resolve lingering crises in the university.

The union also notes with dismay, the continuous and persistent persecution of their union members in Kogi State University Anyigba since July 2017.