By Ozioruva Aliu
THE Benin Zone Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) Thursday called on the federal and state governments to establish Visitation Panels for federal universities to avoid clashes and conflicts among management and staffs.
The Zone made up of University of Benin(UNIBEN), Benin City, Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Adekunle Ajasin University,(AAUA) Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Olusegu Agagu University of Science and Technology,(OAUSTEC) Okitikpukpa, Ondo State, Delta State University, Abraka and the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Efurun, Delta State also lamented the proliferation of state universities and called for checks.
A statement jointly signed by the Zonal Coordinator, Professor Fred Esumeh, Chairman ASUU, UNIBEN, Professor Monday Omoregie, Chairman, ASUU, AAU, Dr Monday Igbafen, Chairman ASUU AAUA, Dr Simon Ehiahbi, Chairman ASUU OAUSTEC, Dr Dapo Akomolafe and Chairman ASUU FUPRE, De Ezekiel Agbalagba said the crisis rocking University of Lagos would have been avoided if there was a Visitation Panel.
The statement also said that ASUU has opted for the University Transparency and Accountability Solution which it said would help curb corruption in the academic system as against the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System, (IPPIS).
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It said the union rejected the IPPIS as a payment platform because they discovered that it was not suitable for the university system and was not designed to accommodate the peculiarities of academic institutions.
“UTAS is a robost software that is in many ways superior to the IPPIS because it accommodates the nature, character and structure of the Nigerian University System and is guaranteed to operate above the dismal distortions, disruptions and gross inconsistency in the payment of the universities’ staff salaries that have come to be the norm with IPPIS”
On visitation panels, the statement said “The failure to institute Visitation to universities is denying the system the benefit of the time-tested, self-regulatory mechanism. The Union wishes to state that it will closely monitor the activities of the Special Visitation to the University (Lagos)to ensure justice is done. The Union also wishes to remind the government of the need to constitute Visitation Panels to the other Federal Universities”
