A total of 110 recently-retired education staff of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have appealed to Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to use his kind heart to reinstate them.
Alternatively, they are appealing to the minister to order the payment of compensation to them, in the wake of their retirement, which was surrounded by seeming confusion on the part of the authorities over the effective date of implementation of federal government’s circulars as well as the enabling Act on the new retirement age of 65 years, from 60, and extension of service years from 35 to 40.
The affected staff made this known, during a press briefing in Abuja, through their spokespersons, Mrs. Adetoso Kehinde who was retired from FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB) and Mrs. Osuji Akiwe, who was retired from FCT Education Resource Centre (ERC).
“Following an earlier announcement by former President Muhammad Buhari on January 20, 2021, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) okayed a bill that sought to increase the retirement age and the service years of Education Officers.
“Six days after, on 26 January, 2021, the FG, through Federal Ministry of Education (FME), issued a circular on the FEC’s approval of Buhari’s pronouncement on the extended retirement age and service period.
“The circular, signed by the then Permanent Secretary, FME, Arc. S.T. Echono, had specifically stated that ‘’implementation of the new scheme is with effect from 1 January, 2021,” they said.
The 110 Education staff, who were mostly to have retired at different months in 2021, said they were thus affected by these adjustments, but were reportedly directed by FCTA authorities to stay put on their desks and keep working, which they did.
“FCTA went ahead, on 23 November, 2021, in a circular by the Director of Human Resource Management (DHRM), Mohammed Bashir, to issue guidelines on the implementation of the new retirement age and length of service.
“Among others, the circular spelt out eligibility, procedure, documentation required for application to benefit from the new scheme, and the scheme’s effective date of implementation.
“Under ‘Effective date of the new retirement age/Length of service, the circular clearly stated that ‘’the effective date of the new scheme is 1st January, 2021,” they said.
They further stated that almost a year later by which which time President Buhari had signed the bill on the scheme into law, FCTA’s DHRM, in a twist, in another circular dated 5 October, 2022, effected a change in the effective date of the retirement scheme.
“The development followed presidential assent to the new law titled ‘Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act 2022’.
“Though the legislation did not give any date for implementation of the new law, the FEC having already approved 1 January, 2021, the development threw the 110 FCTA Education Officers off-balance in circumstances that were not of their making.
“By this time, they had been working for at least 10 extra months. Ruled out by the 5 October circular, therefore, they found themselves out the gates, marooned.
“Interestingly, the FME stuck to 1 January, 2021 as its own implementation date. Spirited efforts made by the group of 110 Education Officers to meet with the former FCT Minister, Malam Mohammed Bello, over their new status and the implications did not yield fruit.
“In correspondence to the Administration, the 110 pointed out that FCTA had issued a circular that effective implementation date shall be 1 January, 2021, and subsequently directed them to apply for elongation of service even as they said they were put ”through series of medical tests and so on”, only to turn around and be informed that FCTA’s own effective implementation date was 1 January, 2022,” they said.
The Education Officers lauded Barrister Wike as a top leader with a proven track record of fairness, justice and sympathy and appealed to the Minister to use his fatherly disposition to grant any of their two prayers: reinstate them or compensate them for the months they were made to keep working, which period they could have used to pursue payment of their retirement entitlements.
They restated their admiration for his style of effective, people-centred leadership, saying they have supreme confidence in the Minister’s ability to grant them immediate relief.
Furthermore, the 110 pledged their loyalty to FCTA leaders, stressing that they have always had ”very cordial” relationship with the management and staff.
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