ASUU frowns at National Assembly plan to single out lecturers for sexual harassment legislation.
By Dayo Johnson – Akure
The Academic Staff Union of University ASUU on Thursday frowned at the attempt by the National Assembly to single out lecturers for sexual harassment legislation.
Zonal Coordinator, Akure Zone of the union, Comrade Olu- Olu Olufayo at a press conference in Akure also insisted that the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) is a scam.
Olufayo was flanked by other university chairpersons which include Comrade Adeola Egbedokun- OAU, Comrade Akinyemi Omonijo FUOYE, Comrade ‘Yinka Awopetu FUTA. and Comrade Kayode Arogundade EKSU.
The union said that “ASUU condemns, in totality, all forms of sexual harassment, no matter its origin.
“However, the Union strongly opposes any form of deliberate effort or attempt by the National Assembly to single out lecturers for sexual harassment legislation, as if such does not happen in other sections of the society.
” Such an attempt violates the rule of jurisprudence which says that laws should not be made against specific or targeted individuals or a group.
On the controversial IPPIS, the union said ” ASUU will not its members to be railroaded into enrolling in this scam called IPPIS because of its apparent deficiencies. IPPIS also runs counter of the Universities Miscellaneous Provision Act (as amended).
“It is nothing but a fraud, which allows the enrollment of ghost workers.
Olutafo, however, noted “with dismay the level of insecurity in the country was becoming alarming and unbearable.
“ASUU is of the opinion that militancy, banditry, herdsmen/farmers clashes, and insurgency are becoming rife and overwhelming on the security apparatus of the nation.
“It, therefore, calls for an urgent overhauling and re-jigging of the security architecture of the country.
On the state of infrastructure, “ASUU calls for an immediate review of the promises made by the government to address the dilapidated and deplorable infrastructures and the bad state of education in Nigeria and demands that such should be respected.
“As things stand now, students are made to learn under inhumane conditions. This is in spite of all the efforts of ASUU to bring to the fore, all the inherent physical problems being experienced by the students.
“The situation has been made worse by apparent government meddlesomeness in the day to day administration of the Universities.
“The attempt to erode universities’ autonomy makes them incapable of performing optimally in teaching, research, and rendering of services.
“This is evident in the forceful introduction on our Universities the obnoxious Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The union, however, lamented that “the government has rejected the cost-free and effective alternative platform, University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), being developed by ASUU.
Olufayo noted that “our Union concluded that Nigeria is presently caught in the midst of suffocating socio-economic challenges which must urgently be addressed.
“ASUU is, therefore, calling for the populace to take power back to the real owners of the resources that is, the working people of Nigeria.
“Having comprehensively reviewed the outstanding issues in the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the 2017 Memorandum of Action (MOA), as well as the pussy-footing attitude of Government on the obnoxious and fraudulent IPPIS programme, which have not been addressed.
Olufayo added that ” The Akure Zone of ASUU aligns itself with the decision of ASUU NEC to prosecute the 2 weeks warning strike to force the government to live up to its responsibilities.