Some lecturers of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, have lamented the non-payment of their earned academic allowances (EAA) for the year 2021.

They said the payments were made by the federal government through the institution’s bursary, but when disbursements began on Friday, they did not get their own EAAs.

What they all have in common is enrollment in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a lecturer told FIJ that he discovered that some of his colleagues who received their allowances on Friday were not enrolled in the IPPIS.

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“They paid some lecturers, but they did not pay any of us who have registered on IPPIS,” the lecturer told FIJ.

He alleged that the AE-FUNAI chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was responsible for the non-payment as the union was not in agreement with the IPPIS.

Another lecturer told FIJ that the university’s ASUU wanted the lecturers to appear before its ethics committee before their EAA would be paid.

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“ASUU AE-FUNAI wants them (affected lecturers) to appear before their ethics committee, and if cleared by the committee, their EAA would be paid,” Gbemisola told FIJ. “ASUU has no legal right to do such. I believe the university management is working hard to resolve the matter as they may have been misled by ASUU.”

Aisha Daniels (not real name), another affected lecturer on the IPPIS, told FIJ that “it appears ASUU EXCO decided to punish its members who got enrolled under the IPPIS payroll system.”

When contacted, Egwu Ogugua, AE-FUNAI ASUU chairman, declined to comment. He said, “We deal with our issues within the confines of our code of practice. I don’t have to discuss with the press on how we manage our affairs”.

However, Kingsley Oyekezie, AE-FUNAI bursar, told FIJ that the university management did not withhold the EAA of any lecturer intentionally or on instruction of ASUU.

Oyekezie lamented poor account documentation which he said led to the discriminatory payment that occurred on Friday. He said non-teaching staff of the institution had also not received their allowances yet, and the management was working to disburse funds to every worker in due time.

“I know that some staff have been paid, some have not been paid,” he said. “There are account issues. All I know is documentation was not properly done; some are still receiving [their allowances].

“No one has been segregated because of IPPIS. The payments were made on Friday, and we stopped at the close of work. When we get to the office, we will rectify and pay everyone. It is their money.”