By Orowo Victoria Ojieh
The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, has said the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) cannot dictate to the Federal Government what platform to be used in paying their salaries.
The Minister stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, shortly after declaring his intention to run for the office of the President in the 2023 general elections.
He said the Federal Government is working out a plan to fully implement the Universities Autonomy Act by granting Universities financial autonomy.
According to him, “It is impractical and incongruous to continuously expect that somebody who is paid a salary continues to dictate to the someone who pays him: ‘This is how you must pay me’. This is where this anomaly is”.
“We have pleaded with ASUU that ‘If there any areas where your salaries fall short, kindly address them within the ambit of IPPIS because that’s what the government has now”, the minister said, The Trumpet gathered.
Nwajiuba also pleaded to the striking lecturers to return to the classroom as the Federal Government is working to address some of their concerns.
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He also expressed worry over the impact of the union’s action on the education of Nigerian students.
ASUU has insisted that its members would not resume work until the federal government implements the lecturers’ preferred payment system known as the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
UTAS was created as an alternative to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) which the federal government uses to pay its workers in the public sector.
