According to report reaching OYOGist.com, the federal government of Nigeria on Tuesday October 13, 2020, has reportedly said, it is considering the adoption of the University Transparency Account System (UTAS) being presented by the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as a payment platform option against the government endorsed Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The government intension was made public by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, after the stretched meeting between the representatives of the federal government, ASUU leadership and Senate leadership.
The minister stated that the UTAS is a home grown platform and is worth granting the necessary assessment test for possible consideration for payment of university teachers.
Ngige who noted that the government has neither jettisoned the implementation of the IPPIS nor granted full acceptance to the UTAS, emphasized that the government is at the stage of subjecting the UTAS to integrity test which upon conclusion, will require them to present it to users such as the office of the accountant general of the federation and other concerned bodies for onward implementation.
The labour minister however said that the whole essence of the meeting is to allow for an opportunity to consider the UTAS as a payment platform and finding lasting solution to the lingering crisis over implementation of IPPIS between the government and ASUU leadership.
The meeting which was conveyed at the instance of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in the bid to find common ground and solve the crisis rocking the ASUU leadership and the federal government, was attended by other concerned parties to include, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, the accountant general of the federation, Ahmed Idris, ASUU representatives among others.
Recall that ASUU had commenced their nationwide strike since March 2020, on grounds of salary payment and allowances, infrastructural facilities in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions among others.
The government persistence to pay ASUU members through the IPPIS, continued as a hard knock against school resumption which generated several concerns among Nigerians including the intervention of the Nigerian Senate led by the Senate President.
