ASUP condemns IPPIS over double payment

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has said the double salary paid by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System to Federal Polytechnic lecturers in June justifies complaints about the inadequacies of the payment platform.

This was in reaction to a social media post by ‘IPPIS Public Servants Group Discussion,’ which threatened ASUP members not to spend the double salary they received in June, saying they would be denied several months of salaries if they spend the second payment.

IPPIS message read, “There was a system error from IPPIS in the payment of June salary, hence the payment of June salary twice. Staff are strongly advised not to touch the second salary as the system will retrieve it in due course. In the case where the system could not do so, due to shortfall or insufficient funds the staff will be placed on black book and may not get a salary for a long period of time. Be warned.”

The IPPIS has strongly been rejected by major tertiary institution unions. It was also one of the major reasons the unions went on strike and developed their preferred payment platforms.

While reacting to the post in an interview with The PUNCH, the national president, ASUP, Mr Anderson Ezeibe, narrated that the double payment was a confirmation that IPPIS was a fraudulent and inefficient salary payment platform for its members.

He said, “We have indeed noticed the double payments in a lot of Federal Polytechnics as reported.

“The reason given by IPPIS for the double payment is rather unfortunate and goes to justify complaints about the inadequacies of the payment platform, its incompatibility with the tertiary education payment systems, and indeed its suitability for use.

“While we don’t encourage dishonesty from our members, it should be made clear that these members should not be made to bear the brunt of such system failure adduced as the reason.

“Our members should not be made to suffer unnecessarily in the coming months and IPPIS should not transfer the burden of such system failure to innocent members.”

Also, the Academic Staff Union of Universities had made several complaints about the IPPIS. National president, ASUU, Emmanuel  Osodeke described IPPIS as a fraudulent platform used by the government.

He said, ‘’We have been shouting all along that IPPIS is a fraud, we have told them that for 16 years they siphoned our money with IPPIS, and they punished our members because of it.’’