COEASU rejects IPPIS implementation without COES peculiarities

LAGOS, Nigeria – The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has rejected the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) which did not put into consideration the peculiarities of the Colleges of Education Subsector (COES).

In a statement issued in Abuja, the President of COEASU, Mr. Nuhu Ogirima, described as unacceptable the decision of the Federal Government to ignore the agreement and understanding it had with the union prior to the implementation of the IPPIS.

Ogirima in the statement said: “The attention of the National Secretariat has been drawn to the payment of February 2020 salary to staff of the Federal Colleges of Education by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

From the  information available,  it  is quite evident that the peculiarities of the Colleges  of Education subsector, which  the stakeholders’ meetings  with  IPPIS  office, prior  to  its implementation, harped on as the basis of rejection of the obnoxious pay platform, have not been reflected. For  the  avoidance  of doubt,  the  February  salary paid by  FGN  did not  include  the Peculiar Allowances  of  the  staff  of  the  subsector, especially  the Peculiar  Earned  Academic  Allowance (PEAA).

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“Also not paid are staff on Sabbatical Leave. In addition, deductions were effected on all staff salary, indiscriminately, for the National Housing Fund (NHF), a voluntary scheme to which most staff did not subscribe. Whereas FGN  deducted  its  own statutory  deductions,  the  non-statutory deduction of staff necessary for their well-being, especially Staff Cooperative Society contributions  were not made.

“Sadly, pension  and the  imposed  obnoxious tax deductions  were effected on gross earning of staff, which included non-taxable Allowances) as against the basic salary on  which  such  deductions  ought  to be  effected.”

Noting that the action of Federal Government  was a breach of trust, COEASU says “The impunity with which FGN has engendered this anomaly goes to further heighten our fears and reinforces our  concern over the  wanton  neglect of  the  Colleges  of Education  subsector  by  successive administrations, which peaked with the current government.

The Union,  therefore,  wishes  to  state,  without equivocation,  that,  while  reiterating  the  initial worries on the concern over the use of IPPIS in COE system, as a tertiary institution, the FGN, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in particular, should, as a matter of urgent concern, capable of disrupting the smooth running of the COEs, take urgent steps to ameliorate the situation.”

The academic body disclosed that the Expanded National Executive Council (ENEC) meeting shall be reconvened  “to deliberate on further necessary action on IPPIS and other  lingering  issues  of  industrial concern,  including  but  not  limited  to the inconclusive renegotiation, the unfulfilled N15bn Needs Assessment palliative and the sum of N2.5bn unpaid arrears of Peculiar Allowances.”