Strike: ASUU payment platform failed integrity test, FG insists
The Federal Government says it is still waiting for the Academic Staff Union of Universities to upgrade and return to it the Universities Transparency Accountability Solution, which was said to have failed integrity test.
ASUU embarked on a one month warning strike on February 14 to press home its demands involving about N1.3 trillion.
The union also wants the Federal Government to adopt the UTAS payment platform to replace the Integrated Personnel and Payment Information System.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa, however, insisted that UTAS has failed the necessary tests that should qualify it to be used as a payment platform. Inuwa stated this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday.
Reacting to the contentious issues that led to the ongoing ASUU strike, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, said when he received a letter from the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, requesting a review of the submission and the technical ability of the software of the system, he forwarded the request to NITDA
Pantami said: “NITDA conducted their own analysis, their own testing and sent same back to me, and I drafted a cover letter I forwarded to the Minister of Labour and Employment, and I copied the two Ministers of Education, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and also office of the Accountant General of the Federation and even NUC (National University Commission).”
Pantami, however, directed the Director-General of NITDA, who sat beside him, to give the situation report on the matter.
Inuwa said: “When we received the request to review UTAS, you know building complex system like UTAS that involves employees’ personal data and also payment system, we have to subject it to best practice tests before approving.
“Normally, when we are reviewing that kind of system, we perform three tests.
“Firstly, because when you’re …