Strong Indications have emerged that the Federal Government may at the end of the day, accept demands by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU by jettisoning and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS and accepting the University Transparency Account System, UTAS, payment platform developed by the University Lecturers.
According to the Federal Government, it may accept the UTAS which is a local content after subjecting it to integrity test on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
Chris Ngige, the minister of labour, employment, and productivity, made the disclosure on Monday, October 12, 2020, after a meeting with the leadership of the Senate and ASUU led by its President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi.
Speaking with Journalists after the meeting, Ngige who noted that the integrity test of UTAS will be carried out at the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, with the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning in attendance.
According to the Minister, the Federal Government at the end of test may settle for UTAS if found better than IPPIS.
Ngige said,” We are subjecting the University Transparency Account System, UTAS, to integrity test today in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning in attendance.
We will not mind accepting it we see it as more robust because it is more of local content.”
The meeting was at the instance of the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan to resolve the present quagmire between the Federal Government and ASUU.
Earlier, speaking before they went into a closed-door session, Senator Ngige said that the Federal Government was studying the details of UTAS as presented by ASUU, with a view to putting it side by side with whatever deficiencies that may be contained in the IPPIS.
Source: Vanguard
