The Federal Government on Wednesday said that it was still waiting for the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to upgrade and return to it the Universities Transparency Accountability Solution, UTAS, which was said to have failed the integrity test.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa disclosed this while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
This comes amidst the ongoing one month warning strike on February 14 embarked upon by ASUU over a face-off with the Federal Government which included the nonacceptance of UTAS as the payment platform to replace the Integrated Personnel and Payment Information System, IPPIS.
The Federal Government has insisted that UTAS has failed the necessary tests that should qualify it to be used as a payment platform, but ASUU on its own had accused the government of not being ready to accept its alternative platform to IPPIS.
Asked on the position of UTAS which is one of 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 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 the National Information Technology Development Agency.
According to him, “They (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 the office of the Accountant General of the Federation and even NUC (National University Commission).