Varsity Employees Lament Non-Capturing In Payroll System

Twenty-three newly recruited academic and non-academic staff of the Federal University, Dutsinma (FUDMA) in Katsina State have decried their non-inclusion in the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), three months after they assumed duties.

One of the employees who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation said they were among the 677 personnel employed on 2nd March, 2024, and had resumed work three months ago.

He said those not captured in GIFMIS included 17 teaching and seven non-teaching staff members.

The source wondered why they had not been captured by GIFMIS and lamented that the lack of clear communication from the university authorities on their plight made the matter more confusing.

He said, “We have not been told why GIFMIS did not record our details. We suspect foul play because others who were employed at the same time were recorded, so why is our case different?

“As it is now, our fate hangs in the balance. We appeal to the governing council and all those concerned to address the issue,” he added.

For personnel of a federal government-owned tertiary institution to receive their salary, such individuals must be entered into the GIFMIS, Nigeria’s IT-based system for managing public funds.

GIFMIS was introduced to assist the Nigerian government in improving the management, performance and outcomes of Public Financial Management (PFM).

The government has since directed a migration from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to GIFMIS as the platform for paying university workers.

Recently, the accountant-general of the federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, attributed salary payment difficulties in federal tertiary institutions to “hasty and uncoordinated migration from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).”

When contacted, FUDMA’s director of Public Relations and Protocol, Alhaji Nasiru Abdul, said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has a list of all newly recruited staff, noting that “anybody who is not on that list did not follow the due process of the recruitment.”

However, our correspondent was shown copies of appointment, resumption of duty, and posting letters issued to some of the affected staff, duly signed by the respective officials of the university, suggesting that the school engaged them.