President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of February and March for lecturers in federal universities who have not registered on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, made the announcement on Tuesday, through a statement issued by Emmanuel Nzomiwu, his media aide.
“The President also directed the Hon. Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, and the Accountant General of the Federation to effect the payment urgently by all means to cushion the effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period on lecturers and members of their family,” the statement read.
Vice-chancellors were also requested to confirm and forward the bank verification numbers (BVN) of the affected lecturers to the accountant-general of the federation for the payments to be effected.
In January 2020, the federal government ordered the stoppage of salaries for lecturers and all workers in tertiary institutions who were not enrolled on the IPPIS.
ASUU had rejected the directive to register on the platform, saying it would affect the autonomy of universities, and this, among other issues, led to a declaration of a two-week warning strike on March 9.
In March 2020, the federal government came to a truce with the union and agreed to merge IPPIS with the payroll software proposed by ASUU.
