President Muhammadu Buhari has approved immediate payments of the two months withheld salaries of University lecturers
Their salaries were withed for refusing enroll in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS.
The President’s approval came after he had a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige yesterday in Abuja
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had on Tuesday said the President directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, and the Accountant General of the Federation to effect the payment urgently to cushion the deleterious effects of COVID 19 pandemic lockdown on lecturers and members of their family.
The Labour Minister added that all the Vice-Chancellors were asked to revalidate the affected lecturers’ Bank Verification Numbers and forward to the Accountant General of the Federation for the payments.
The Federal Government had directed all federal tertiary institutions in the country to enroll in the IPPIS from February 2020.
The Federal Government had previously withheld the lecturers’ salaries over their refusal to register in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
The union, among other issues, embarked on an indefinite strike, arguing that the implementation of the IPPIS was against the FG-ASUU 2009 agreement.
Reacting to the payment of withheld salaries, the National President of ASUU, Prof. Abiodun Ogunyemi, insisted that the lecturers would not resume work because the strike was not only about IPPIS.
