The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has described Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) system, as an introduction to advanced corrupt practices.
The Union urged the Federal Government not to truncate the autonomy of the University system or reduce universities to local communities or arm of Federal Ministries.
In a statement issued and signed by the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) branch, Olayinka Awopetu, appealed to Federal Government to jettison its stand to include the body in Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The Union noted that a distributed system is more suitable than a centralized system.
Dr Awopetu further expressed the body’s disdain for corruption while the union embrace transparency and accountability in all sector of the nation.
EduCeleb.com earlier reported that ASUU was developing an alternative to the IPPIS. That is called the Nigerian Universities Transparency and Accountability System (NUTAS).
The unionist urged the Federal Government to consider the alternative.
According to Awopetu, the alternative will also adequately take care of all the claims of the Federal Government on lPPlS, the Universities autonomy laws as well as the peculiarities of the university Academic Environment.
Awopetu stated in the statement that “while ASUU is not averse to transparency and accountability to the Nation, including the university system, we believed this can be achieved in a way that will not truncate the autonomy of the University system or reduce our universities to local communities or arms of Federal Ministries.
“Hence, the need for the Federal Government to consider the alternative offer from ASUU, which will adequately take care of all the claims of the Federal Government on lPPlS, the Universities Autonomy Laws as well as the peculiarities of the university Academic Environment.
‘’This alternative is called Nigerian Universities Transparency and Accountability System (NUTAS)”
He premised the stand of the FUTA branch of the union on some factors saying, “the IPPIS as presently structured is centralized. This is inappropriate for any University system. In this case, ASUU FUTA believes that a distributed system is more suitable than a centralized system.
“A distributed system whereby each University manages its database, and the mirror is available to the Federal Government, ensures a peer review as well as checks and balances.
“This will ensure that the autonomy of the university system is sustained while making the outcome available as a minor to the employer for planning as claimed by the Federal Government.
“Information Technology, upon which the IPPIS is built, has rated distributed systems above centralized systems because distributed systems are more fault tolerant, secure, transparent (because of peer review) and easily take care of scalability while making resource sharing easier and more effective.
“A centralized system is prone to more corruption than a distributed system. This is further reinforced by corruption cases already discovered within a short time of test running of IPPIS, like the report of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation claiming that OAGF was unable to provide records covering about N23 billion in the IPPIS operation transaction accounts”
He said further, “also, in June 2017, EFCC arraigned three persons on multiple count charges, led by a staff of Soft Alliance (Onukaogu Onyinyechi Esther) who added her name and those of her two siblings (Joshua and Jennifer) into the IPPIS database as staff of Federal Ministry of Education and Federal Ministry of Works respectively.
“The amount paid on them was N9.7million. To ask pertinent questions. why is government hell bent on coercing ASUU into joining the IPPIS? Can Government provide a list of the MDAs that have not even joined IPPIS?”
