PATRICK ABANG Calabar –
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the Federal Government over its plans to disparage as well as antagonize the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), describing its efforts as highly unpatriotic.
The Union noted that the Nigerian government failed in its duties by refusing to subject IPPIS to proper integrity test just because employed the service of an oracle based company abroad despite its deficiencies.
Addressing newsmen in Calabar on Wednesday , the Zonal Chairperson of ASUU Calabar Zone ,Dr Aniekan Brown said that the Federal Government was bent on discrediting UTAS, stressing that IPPIS as a payment system was uncongenial with the modus operandi of the university system given the peculiarities of Nigerian universities.
He stated that the outstanding issues in the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) versus University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) option; and the Federal Government of Nigeria’s unpatriotic attempt to discredit the indigenously-developed software.
His words: “It is considered expedient to remind us here that the issues of Revitalization of Public Universities, Proliferation and Mis-governance of State Universities, Earned Academic Allowances, Non-Payment of Outstanding Salaries to some members (some for over 25 months), Release of Government’s White Paper on Reports of the Visitation Panels sent to Universities, and the conclusion to the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement renegotiation which was due in 2012, are still outstanding.
“The attendant ills to these cases of negligence have been laid bare on a multiple note; the conclusion of which would be the decimation of public university education.
“In spite of the fact that labour matters are on the concurrent list in Nigeria, some state governors and visitors to state universities have abdicated their role of funding such universities. They now see universities as revenue generating outfits.They run such universities as appendages of their Government Houses – independent of extant laws, traditions, and conventions.
“Subventions are either greatly reduced or in dearth. Such universities are now run without Governing Councils and the processes of leadership evolution and development are abused. Political patronage is now the order, and salaries are delayed and fractionalized. Abia and Ebonyi State Universities are here in focus.
“Before remediation UTAS’ pass rate was 97.4%. However, after remediation, the pass rate became 99.3%. The remaining 0.7% is seriously contestable (and we challenge NITDA officials to account for it).
“When the time came for the authentication of the Report for onward submission to the Minister for Labour and Employment, the NITDA team shied away, rather requested for a future date. That date never came. Rather, very dishonourably, it dusted up its earlier ignorance-laden Press Text and made another Press Release on Saturday, March 26, 2022 claiming that UTAS had failed the test.
“It would then sadly be concluded that an untested imported software whose shortcomings are glaring has been adopted by the Government; but a home-grown software whose pass rate has been put at 99.3% has been adjudged a failure by Government officials. It raises a question as to if the occupants of high offices are Nigerians or aliens,” he stated.
Speaking further, he stated that NITDA has failed woefully on their mandate which included creating framework for planing, research, development, application, standardization, evaluating and regulation of information technology practices in Nigeria.
” Our take is that for working to sabotage the efforts of Nigerians; but accepting a foreign-developed software with its attendant inadequacies, shortcomings, and pains visited on Nigerians, the operators of NITDA and the supervising Ministry have failed woefully on their mandate.
“This is obviously a case of neo-colonialism, and Nigerians should resist it. The afore-mentioned operatives should desist from such anti-national sentiments or the FGN should determine the continuous occupation of those offices.
“We seek the cooperation and understanding of the good people of Nigeria, and the general public on ASUU’s stance on IPPIS and other outstanding issues bordering on the FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement.
“Also, proprietors of state universities should take responsibility as appropriate for the good of public universities in Nigeria. By so doing, it will stem the tide of industrial crisis it has plunged the public university system into,” he stated .
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