THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IPPIS POLICY IN THE NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) programme was introduced by the Federal Government supported by the World Bank as one of the measures of Public Service Reform. Prior to the introduction of this scheme Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) do receive their recurrent costs on monthly basis as subvention. The above arrangement gave room for the MDA’s to disburse money sent to them whenever and however it pleases them. This therefore according to records led to financial misconduct in the Nigerian civil service. The huge amount spent on recurrent expenditure, if not monitored and cut down through appropriate government policy, cases of corruption will continue to prevail in the civil service. Hence, need for Nigerian Government to provide accurate and correct number of civil servants under her care and to an extent minimize budget estimate via IPPIS programme. This research work tends to examine the benefits and shortfall of incorporating the university system in to IPPIS programme by federal government of Nigeria. The paper undertakes a theoretical grinding of critical issues under study, adopting a review of periodic publications, journals and related secondary materials. Hence, the researcher used qualitative method in the study. The study revealed that, university system do not reject IPPIS but argued that IPPIS do not adequately capture its flexibility and peculiarities. Hence the need to take in to consideration its demand in the IPPIS software application. The study also discovered many shortfalls and benefits of incorporating university system in to IPPIS programme by the federal government. The study therefore recommend that the implementation of IPPIS policy by federal government should adequately capture the flexibility and peculiarities of the University System; And that, both parties (Federal government and University system) should consider likely consequences of their misunderstanding which might negatively affect the general public.