The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says delays to the call off of the ongoing strike is due to the federal government’s refusal to remove Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform for university lecturers.

ASUU President Biodun Ogunyemi said this in a statement made available on Sunday in Abuja, warning that the ongoing strike may still linger if the government failed to meet its demand.

ASUU had embarked a nationwide strike on March 23 to press on its demands which include revitalisation, Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, Visitation Panels, among others.

According to Ogunyemi, Nigerians should bear with us. ASUU is doing their battle.

“Our Union is struggling to ensure that the children of the poor, who cannot afford the prohibitive cost paid in private universities or do not have opportunities to study outside Nigeria, get quality education which is not priced beyond their reach.

“This will only happen when the government adequately funds public universities and addresses the rot and decay in them.

“ASUU has shifted positions in some respects.

“We were equally making steady progress on other issues,”he said.

Mr. Ogunyemi added that the government was punishing university teachers because they rejected IPPIS, which was imposed on the universities against the provisions of the law on autonomy and universal practices.

He however, said that ASUU was at the final stage of the integrity test of the Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Mr. Ogunyemi said UTAS had been presented to the Minister of Education and senior management staff, the president and leadership of the Senate, and the Office of the Accountant-General where NITDA and Office of the National Security Adviser and other MDAs were fully represented.

“Last Thursday, 5th November, 2020, the National Universities Commission (NUC) facilitated the presentation of UTAS to Vice-Chancellors and Bursars of federal universities.

“All questions raised at the four levels of presentation of UTAS were satisfactorily answered.

“With the full cooperation of the concerned agencies, the final test with NITDA could be completed as a matter of days and UTAS adopted in place of IPPIS in our universities,” he said.

Mr. Ogunyemi said ASUU disagrees with the government on the use of IPPIS during the so-called transition period.

“In practical terms, there is no transition period if the government is sincere,” the ASUU president said. “It is the government that is prolonging the matter, not ASUU.”

(NAN)