The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has confirmed the shutdown of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for federal tertiary institutions (FTIs).
The OAGF’s action followed Federal Government’s approval for the removal of FTIs from the IPPIS platform.
The Director of Press and Public Relations in the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, confirmed the development in an interview with The Nation.
He said: “It was only natural for the IPPIS platform for FTIs to be shut down, given the Federal Government’s directive to remove these institutions from the system.”
Mokwa also announced that this month’s (November) salary for FTIs would be processed through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). Institutions are required to prepare their payroll in an Excel format and submit it to IPPIS for verification and validation.
Amidst concerns about changes in salary account details, the OAGF issued a statement that the government did not direct its workers to change the financial institutions linked to their IPPIS accounts.
Also, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected the IPPIS guidelines on payment of salary for public tertiary institutions.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who spoke with The Nation yesterday in Abuja, urged the Federal Government to allow universities to operate their budget in line with the University Miscellaneous Act 2012.
Earlier yesterday, the government announced the removal of tertiary institutions from IPPIS.
The institutions had been permitted to prepare their salaries and submit to IPPIS for vetting before they would be paid through the GIFMIS platform.
The removal of university lecturers from IPPIS was one of the major demands of ASUU.
Osodeke said: “If you check their guidelines, you will know that the government is just playing with words.
“If you say you have removed tertiary institutions from IPPIS, why are you saying when they finish preparing their salaries, they should send them to IPPIS for verification and vetting before you will pay? Why? Have you removed them that way?
“The government should allow universities to run their budget as it is indicated in the University Miscellaneous Act 2012. That is what we are saying.”
