ASUU Strike: We’re Waiting For Lecturers For Upgraded UTAS, Says Fed Govt

The Federal Government has said it is still waiting for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to liaise with it on an upgraded version of its preferred digital payment platform, Universities Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS), which had earlier failed integrity test.

Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, announced this while addressing State House correspondents yesterday in Abuja.

Inuwa was at the Presidential Villa along with Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Pantami for the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He said the agency carried out three necessary integrity tests on the platform, all of which failed.

But ASUU had accused the government of not being ready to accept its alternative platform to IPPIS.

But when he was asked about the state of UTAS, Pantami said when he received a letter from the Minister of Labor and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, requesting a review of the submission and the technical ability of the software of the system, he forwarded the request to NITDA.

Giving clarification on UTAS, 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 do best practice tests before approving. Normally, when we are reviewing that kind of system, we perform three tests.”

Also, the Federal Government, through its IT Project Clearance Performance Policy, saved N24 billion from the budgets of 258 digital services projects in 2021.

Communications and Digital Economy Minister Ali Isa Pantami said this yesterday after the week’s virtual FEC meeting.

The minister said all Federal Government’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) contracts above N1 billion will henceforth require quality assurance certification.

Also, FEC approved the establishment of an appropriate mechanism to protect indigenous farmers in getting the right prices for their produce and commodities.

It will also ensure that farmers get appropriate incentives and encouragement to guarantee their continued participation in the farming business

The NITDA boss gave details about the various tests the agency carried out on UTAS to ensure its enduring usability.