Nigerians need to be vigilant and assist President Tinubu to successfully push through necessary reforms that would improve the quality of service and living in Nigeria.
President Tinubu has a particularly challenging task of transforming Nigeria’s education sector—particularly, the higher education sector.
Demonstrating his eagerness to fix the gargantuan problems besetting the sector, he instantly signed the Student Loan bill only few weeks after being sworn into office. As a leader who listens to public opinion, the Student Education Loan Law was amended recently, which he has signed. The indubitable intention of the president with the Law is to remove a significant impediment to higher and technical education that many Nigerians face—unaffordable costs.
Furthermore, President Tinubu gave expression to university autonomy by releasing federal universities from the requirement to pay a portion of their internally generated revenue into the federal treasury.
Additionally, federal tertiary education institutions do not need to take permission from an array of government agencies to fill job vacancies. Moreover, they have been removed from the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS). It is obvious that the president is getting good advice from the Minister of Education, Prof. Mamman Tahir and his team at the Federal Ministry of Education, and is gradually improving university autonomy, for instance. However, the president and minister of education should watch out for and react promptly against the Resistance Movement.
Some weeks ago, the vice chancellor of a federal university in north-east Nigeria said on a national television station that some persons were paid by the office of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS) under the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, supposedly, as staff of his university until the lid was blown open when a matter required some verification by his university. That was when his university denied that those illegitimate “employees” were genuine staff of his university.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Tinubu, directed that federal tertiary education institutions should be removed from IPPIS with effect from 13th December 2023. It is obvious that beneficiaries of the internal corruption wing associated with the manipulation of the IPPIS are not impressed with this decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). It is inexplicable that not only are staff of those exempted federal institutions still being paid their salaries through the IPPIS more than four (4) months after the directive, but evidence has emerged that even new federal universities have been communicated about some pending enrolment of their staff into the IPPIS by some “officials of the IPPIS”. For instance, the following WhatsApp messages were posted to the staff platform of a new federal university (the Admiralty University of Nigeria):
Message 1:
“CHECKLIST FOR INTEGRATED PAYROLL PERSONNEL INFORMATION SYSTEM (IPPIS) CAPTURING OF ADUN STAF.
This is to bring to the notice of all staff that the Officials of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS) of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy will be coming to the University to capture the staff for the purpose of enrolment. The exercise is scheduled to commence on Wednesday May 15, 2024, and all staff are required to provide the following documents.
1. Letter of employment.
2. Letter of last promotion
3. Bank Verification Number (BVN)
4. National Identification Number (NIN)
5. 6 Month Bank Statements
6. 6 Month Pay slips
7. Birth Certificate or Age declaration
8. 2 Passport Photograph
9. University staff ID card
Gleaning from the foregoing all staffs (sic) are required to get the above documents ready to ensure a seamless enrolment into the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS) platform.
Navy Captain Marcus Abani Ph.D
Bursar”
Message 2:
“Good morning All,
As a follow up to the information posted by the Bursar. Please all staff are required to make available the following for verification by the IPPIS Officials
1. Letter of first Employment
2. Letter of Last promotion
3. Evidence of transfer of service (if any)
4. Staff identification card
5. Birth certificate/Declaration of Age
6. Educational Qualifications
7. Copies of bank statements (6 months)
8. BVN Printout
9. PFA Printout
10. Evidence of change of name (if any)”
The above messages appear to conflict the directive of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) referenced earlier. Moreover, very suspicious is the fact that the above WhatsApp messages were posted despite an earlier memo from the National Universities Commission (NUC), dated 8th April 2024, referenced NUC/ES/138/Vol.65/73, and titled RE: GUIDELINES FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS, POST IPPIS EXIT, which was addressed to “Vice-Chancellors, Federal Universities” and “Directors/Chief Executives, Inter-University Centres.” This memo informed that following the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of the “policy decoupling and exempting tertiary education institutions from the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS)” with effect from 13th December 2023, the Federal Ministry of Education developed guidelines for “good governance and financial management.” Those guidelines, the NUC memo informed, were approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on 26th January 2024. The approval of the guidelines was communicated to the National Universities Commission (NUC) by the Federal Ministry of Education via a memo dated 28th March 2024, with reference FME/PS/324/C.I/1/377. This memo, signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, conveyed urgency, even as at paragraph 5, it stated, “Please, treat as urgent.”
If it is true that the office of the Accountant General of the Federation is sending “Officials of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS)” to a federal university for the “purpose of enrolment” into the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS) after the approved EXIT and EXEMPTION of all federal tertiary education institutions, then a relevant question to ask is, “who are members of the resistance movement who dare disobey the directive of the Federal Executive Council (FEC); and is the Accountant General of the Federation aware that certain staff under her office are involved in this disregard of public policy, or the Accountant-General has authorized this violation of the policy?”
Additionally, who are the collaborators (within the “Nigerian Navy”?) with certain “officials of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS)” who are visiting Admiralty University of Nigeria to conduct “enrolment” into IPPIS; and what is the motive or cover-up? I advise that the name of the Nigeria Navy ought not to be associated with this suspicious scheme, which is also in direct confrontation with the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.
It is imperative on the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir, to reach out to the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to urge caution against direct or indirect disregard of the FEC-approved IPPIS-exit policy and the guidelines for the post-IPPIS exit regime that his ministry has prepared. Furthermore, such infractions support the need to release the list of members of the governing councils of federal universities and other tertiary education institutions, which the minister had informed over three weeks ago would be released “soon.”
Nigerians need to be vigilant and assist President Tinubu to successfully push through necessary reforms that would improve the quality of service and living in Nigeria.
Patrick Yande is an education consultant.
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