ASUU: Nigerian Government has Agreed on UTAS

For the umpteenth time, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) leadership will meet with officials of the Nigerian government on Tuesday to possibly finalise talks on the renegotiated 2009 agreement, among other concerns.

ASUU has been on strike since February 14 due to the government’s failure to implement its demands on lecturers’ salaries and allowances, improved university funding, and the use of UTAS instead of the federal government’s preferred payment platform — Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

As of Tuesday, ASUU’s strike had been in effect for 183 days, causing anger among students, parents, and other stakeholders.

ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke said on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Monday that the University Transparency and Accountability Transparency (UTAS) has  been certified for use by the government to replace the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

ASUU created UTAS in response to a complaint that the IPPIS used by the government to pay university workers’ salaries failed to recognise the nuances of the university system and was riddled with errors.

“The issue of IPPIS and UTAS has been put to rest because the test has been completed,” Mr Osodeke stated. UTAS will be adopted to encompass all universities, as agreed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari.

“It’s great if we go to that meeting tomorrow and the administration says they’re happy to sign whatever we negotiated.”

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, will speak about the state of negotiations with the striking university workers on Thursday.