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There are concerns among university students across the country, as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is reportedly planning a showdown with the Federal Government over a planned imposition of Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS) on its members.
        ASUU leaders were said to have held an emergency national executive council meeting. During the meeting, the Nigerian union of university academic staff, concluded that its leadership at university levels should begin to mobilise its members for an action against the federal government. Speaking on the development, Chairman, ASUU, University of Ibadan chapter, Deji Omole said that while the union is not against accountability, it will not allow the government violate existing laws and autonomy of the university. ASUU engaged in mass actions to press further its demand on the Nigerian Government for better funding of the education sector. “Forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers is a violation of the university autonomy act. It is therefore illegal,” Omole said. Omole said that despite ASUU’s offer to help the government design a template that will factor in the peculiarities of university lecturers in the IPPIS, the government settled for the World Bank-designed exploitative template.
        According to Omole, the government’s adopted template was designed to suppress lecturers as it does not make provisions for payment of arrears of promotion, study leave allowance, responsibility allowance, among others. Omole further explained that the adopted template was designed to phase out university lecturers above 60 years of age against the new policy where professors retired at 70 years of age. As reported on Pulse a couple of days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari had threatened that any federal government worker that is not captured on the IPPIS by Thursday, October 31, 2019, will not be paid a salary.