The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has on Monday described the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as a business venture of some interest groups.

ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi made this declaration in a letter addressed to zonal leaders of the union.

DAILY POST gathered that ASUU has been on strike to get unfulfilled agreements signed with the federal government implemented.

The union in its argument also kicked against the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

But, Ogunyemi in the letter made available to DAILY POST in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital added that arrangements are now underway by the union to make an initial presentation of its University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to the Federal Government.

He described IPPIS as “a business venture of some interest groups” in Nigeria.

Ogunyemi added that “their profit margin increases by the increasing number of University staff they are able to capture” and admonished members of the Union not to waver in their resolve to reject the IPPIS.

He maintained that the deliberate withholding and distortion of salaries by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation are ploys to hoodwink and arm-twist members of the union.

Ogunyemi assured members that once the issue of payment platform is sorted out, the union will then pursue to a logical conclusion the main demands behind the ongoing strike.

“As expected, the vested interests are uncomfortable with the emergence of the university transparency (UTAS) because of its potential for exposing the IIPIS fraud. The impression earlier created was that no further payment of salaries could be made without “data capture”.

“However, the IPPIS office has forcefully migrated all academic staff in federal universities to the platform and what is being done now is to “formalise” the process. Deliberate withholding and distortion of salary payments by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) are ploys to hoodwink and arm-twist ASUU members to swallow their vomit on IPPIS.

“At this stage, it is unedifying to see ASUU members filling the Bursar’s Office of OAGF for IPPIS data capture. Apart from betraying the Union, many of those who attempted to “go solo” have also been ridiculed beyond description.

“Even non-members respect ASUU for its informed and principled position on IPPIS”.