IPPIS: WE WILL PROTECT UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY WITH OUR BLOOD – ASUU VOWS

The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, has vowed that they will protect university autonomy with the last drop of their blood.

Ogunyemi made this clear in a press statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The statement was titled “On President Buhari’s No IPPIS, No Salary” and Ogunyemi explained that the directive was meant for civil servants and not university lecturers.

The ASUU president revealed that on January 9, 2020, they reached an understanding with President Muhammadu Buhari, to develop the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which will be sensitive to the operations of the university system, accommodate perculiarities and respect autonomy.

Ogunyemi also claimed ASUU has spent millions of naira to develop the UTAS, which has been presented to the Federal Ministry of Education.

“We are aware of the antics of bureaucrats, especially in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, aimed at bringing universities under their control. ASUU will not fold its arms and watch the gains we made on the autonomy of Nigerian universities slip by.

“It took us several years of continuous struggle during the military to get here. So, let nobody hide under the name of President Muhammadu Buhari to attack the autonomy of public universities because Nigerian scholars are prepared to resist it to the last drop of their blood,” the statement read in part.