Strike: FG agrees to test ASUU’s proposed alternative to IPPIS

The Federal Government said on Tuesday it might consider the adoption of the University Transparency Account System (UTAS) presented by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

UTAS is an alternative emoluments payment platform proposed by the union after rejecting the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) preferred by the federal government.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, stated this while addressing journalists at the end of a closed-door meeting with the leadership of the Senate and ASUU.

Ngige said the alternative payment platform presented by ASUU was homegrown and worth given thorough assessment test.

He said: “We agreed at the meeting to give required consideration to the UTAS alternative they came up with as a way of finding a lasting solution to the lingering crisis over the implementation of IPPIS.

“We have neither jettisoned the implementation of the IPPIS nor fully accepted UTAS.

“The level we moved to now is to subject ASUU’s scheme to integrity test and in doing so, it will be presented to users like the office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Wednesday.

“After that, it will be sent to the National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA) and from there to the office of the National Security Adviser for a second look.

“The platform is an option grown device that requires stage by stage consideration and from the looks of things it is good,” he said.

The Chairman of Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TetFund, Ahmad Baba Kaita, said the interface had not ended, but the two parties are getting closer to a stage of compromise.

“The meeting brokered by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, among other stakeholders, achieved a lot today with agreement on the need to subject the UTAS alternative brought forward by ASUU for integrity test by all relevant departments of the government,” he said.

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