UTAS Payment for Lecturers: FG Breathes Fire, Blasts ASUU Over False Claim

• The Federal Government has denied a claim by ASUU that it has agreed to use the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) for payment of lecturers' salaries
• Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, said the mode of payment for members of ASUU is still under deliberation
• According to Adamu, the Nigerian government has already invested so much into ensuring adequate funding for tertiary institutions

A claim by the national president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that the Federal Government has agreed to adopt the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) as the payment platform for lecturers has been denied by the minister of education.

Daily Trust reports that Adamu Adamu while reacting to the comment made by ASUU's national president, Emmanuel Osodeke, said the issue of UTAS was still being deliberated upon.

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FG talks tough, reveals fresh payment plan for ASUU after 186 days long strike

The ASUU president, in an interview on Channels Television, said that the issues of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and UTAS have been put to rest.

According to the Punch, Osodeke had added that said some tests have been done and an agreement was reached with the chief of staff that UTAS will be implemented to cover the universities.

However, in his reaction, the minister denied such an agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government.

Adamu said a committee has been set up by the FG to look into the issue and that of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), known as the Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (UPPPS).

Funding tertiary education in Nigeria

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He added that an estimated N2.5 trillion has already been invested into tertiary education by the government.

According to him, the funding pushed through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) will last for 10 years.

His words:

“We are doing everything humanly possible to conclude on the negotiations. It is our hope that the outcome of the renegotiations will bring lasting industrial peace to our campuses.

"In the meantime, I am sure that the current efforts would yield the desired results and return our children back to school.”

FG talks tough, reveals fresh payment plan for ASUU after 186 days-long strike

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities will not be paid for the six months they did not work, the Federal Government has said.

The decision of the FG was made public by the minister of education, Adamu Adamu on Thursday, August 18.

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ASUU in tight spot as education minister asks students to sue Union, gives reason

According to Adamu, FG will not renege on its 'no work, no pay' policy as a deterrent to other workers who might want to adopt strike action as a means of making their grievances known to the government.

Hope for Nigerian students as ASUU agrees to call off 183-day long strike, gives 1 key condition

The national president of the Academic Union of Universities had assured that the union will call off its strike immediately after its demands are met by the Federal Government.

Osodeke confirmed that there is a scheduled meeting between the Nigerian government and ASUU leaders on Tuesday, August 16.

According to Osodeke, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System enforced by FG on the union members is fraudulent.

Source: Legit.ng