FG bows to pressure, removes higher institutions from IPPIS

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has exempted universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment platform.

The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Maman, disclosed this after the federal cabinet meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The minister said the president had directed that the Vice Chancellor be taken out of the platform that made recruitment difficult to ensure efficient management of those education institutions.

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Mamman said: “Simply, the president and the council is just concerned about efficiency of management of the universities and so it has nothing to do with integrity or options of platforms.

“The president cannot understand why Vice Chancellors should be leaving their duty post and run to Abuja to get staff enlisted on IPPIS when they get recruited.

“The basic concern is that universities are governed by laws. And those laws give them autonomy in certain respects and most respects and the IPPIS has sort of eroded that autonomy granted universities in accordance with their act.”

In his contribution, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, said: “Today, the universities and other tertiary institutions have gotten a very big relief from the integrated personnel payroll and information system. You will recall that the university authorities and the others have been clamouring for the exemption of the universities and other tertiary institutions from this system.

“Today, council has graciously approved that. What that means is that going forward, the universities like the Honorable Minister of Education has said and other tertiary institutions, the polytechnics and colleges of education will be taken off the IPPIS.

“What that means in simple language is that the university authorities and other tertiary institutions will now be paying their own personnel from their own end instead of relying on the IPPIS.”