The Federal Executive Council (FEC) unanimously agreed to exclude universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

The exemption approval, reached during the FEC’s meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, comes as a relief to tertiary institutions across the country.

Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, revealed the immediate implementation of the decision during a briefing with State House Correspondents following the FEC meeting.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Mamman emphasized the need for greater efficiency in managing universities, particularly concerning the inconvenience caused to Vice Chancellors who had to travel to Abuja for personnel salary processing.

“The president and the council are concerned about the efficiency of university management. The exemption is not about integrity or platform options but the erosion of autonomy granted to universities by their acts,” Mamman stated.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, hailed the decision, emphasizing the relief it brings to tertiary institutions. He highlighted that universities and other tertiary institutions would now handle the payment of their personnel independently, relieving them from dependence on the IPPIS.

Today, the universities and other tertiary institutions have gotten a very big relief from the integrated personnel payroll and information system… the council has graciously approved that. What that means is that going forward, the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education will be taken off the IPPIS,” Idris explained.