ASUU Leadership Keeps Silent After Meeting With Buhari

The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday declined comment on the outcome of its meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The ASUU leadership was led by its President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reliably learnt that the meeting was at the instance of the university lecturers who have been resisting enrolling on the Federal Government`s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Buhari had ordered the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to stop the payment of salaries of Federal Government workers, including members of ASUU, who failed to enrol on the IPPIS platform by Oct. 31, 2019.

The government later extended the deadline to Nov. 30, 2019.

NAN reports that the meeting which was presided over by President Buhari was attended by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Others at the meeting were the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, and the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.

ASUU had threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the Federal Government stopped the payment of salaries of its members who refused to enrol.

While expressing its readiness for dialogue with the government, ASUU proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution as an alternative to the government’s centralised payroll system of IPPIS.