Federal universities across the country are the next set of agencies to be enrolled on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment system.
The move is consistent with federal government’s agenda to promote probity, transparency, and accountability in government expenditure and to achieve the desired objectives of governance in centralizing payroll system.
The Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Ahmed Idris, made the disclosure in Abuja at the meeting of Vice – Chancellors, Registrars, and Bursars of Federal Universities with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).
According to him, the centralized payroll will be prepared by Individual Universities but coordinated by IPPIS while the total management of the human resources rest squarely with the universities.
According to the AGF, the IPPIS scheme is one of the Federal government’s reform initiatives which are designed to achieve among others: a centralized payroll system of the Federal Government, to facilitate easy storage, updating and retrieval of personal record for administrative and Pensions processing to aid manpower planning and budgeting as well as to comply with the global best practice.
He revealed that prior to 2015, the total number of Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) on IPPIS was 288 with a total staff count of 235,858, adding that as at today, the total MDAs on IPPIS platform is 561 with a total staff count of over 755,422.
The AGF further stated that the cumulative savings achieved on IPPIS platform between 2017 and 2018 was N273, 809,842,071.99, adding that this savings will have been lost but now available for government spending.
Idris also assured them that if they comply with the Presidential directive on IPPIS platform enrolment, the IPPIS will accommodate all peculiarities such as sabbatical, visitation, honorarium and earned allowances, etc.
He stated that the universities should be the best ground for entrenching reforms towards transparency and good governance, urging them to embrace the scheme as the government will not change its position on IPPIS enrolment. The AGF further explained that the Nigerian Police and para-military Agencies are already being paid on IPPIS platform while the enrolment of the Nigeria Military – Army, Navy and Airforce have just been concluded and a trial payroll is ongoing. In the same vein, the enrolment of Federal Polytechnics is scheduled for early July 2019.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed described the IPPIS scheme as one of the best things that has happened to Public Finance Management. That IPPIS is the best way to overcome some of the challenges affecting the universities.
Also speaking, the Director IPPIS (OAGF), Mr. Olusegun Olufehinti, noted that every university will be involved in the enrolment process, He assured the university administrators of continuous engagement throughout the process.