The Federal Government has decided to exempt universities and other tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment platform.
The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Maman, announced this decision after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, NN News Media reports.
The exemption allows the heads of these institutions to conduct recruitment exercises without seeking approval from the Head of Service of the Federation.
President Tinubu directed the removal of Vice Chancellors from the IPPIS platform to streamline the recruitment process and enhance the efficient management of education institutions.
The motivation behind the decision is to address concerns about the erosion of autonomy granted to universities by their governing laws. The government emphasized the need for universities to operate independently, and the IPPIS was seen as compromising this autonomy.
Minister Maman clarified that the President and the Council’s primary concern was the efficient management of universities rather than questioning the integrity or suitability of the payment platforms.
The exemption means that universities and other tertiary institutions will now handle the payment of their personnel internally instead of relying on the IPPIS. This move is considered a significant relief for the affected institutions.
