From Rose Ejembi Makurdi
Staff of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM) under the Joint Action Congress (JAC) on Tuesday, described the introduction of IPPIS to its University as a scam.
The staff who embarked on a three day peaceful protest maintained IPPIS had done more harm than good to both staff and retired members of the university.
The protesting staff who bore various placards at the school gate, to press home their demands lamented that since the introduction of IPPIS it had been one problem or the other as many of them were being owed months of allowances and salaries even as some were having difficulty in accessing payment.
The staff went about their protest peacefully bearing placards with inscriptions such as: “Return positions of Non Teaching Staff back to them,” “IPPIS is a scam, Enough is enough.” “Return our monthly allowances back to our salaries, pay JAC its N120 billion now.”
The protesting staff also demanded goverment to honour the 2009 agreement which, according to them, is now over due for review, while also demanding the payment of minimum wage arrears, their entitlement, and benefits of retired members among others.
Others are, “2009 Agreement is long over due for review, Pay us our minimum wage arrears now,” “Pay us our entitlement now and Pay our retired members their benefits now, we are not slaves.”
FUAM’s acting chairman of JAC, Comrade Moses Girgi, who also doubles as NASU chairman told newsmen that there have been irreconcilable inconsistencies created by IPPIS where allowances and benefits have been stopped even as he called on government to urgently address and rectify the issues.
Girgi noted that JAC which comprises members of Non Academic Staff Union of Universities and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities was joining the protest following a directive from the national body over failure of government to pay minimum wage signed into law in 2019 and failure of government to renegotiate 2009 agreement since 2012.
He explained further that the Babalakin led negotiating team has not yielded any fruitful result as the committee had not sat for one day.
“Government promised to institute a committee but up till now, nothing has happened which calls for worries.”
On the suspension of University resuming on the 18th of January, 2021, by the Federal government due to ASUU’s call, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Professor Richard Kimbi, says though the institution has complied despite already putting machinery in motion however said resumption still subject to its employer.