There are reports that some civil servants, especially in the Federal Ministry of Education, who have reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 years but are unwilling to retire, are bent on manipulating the system to stay on in service.
It is also reported that these civil servants influence their posting to schools so as to remain longer in service and benefit from the nation’s new retirement age for teachers.
The action of these desperate civil servants should not be condoned for the main reason that it is a corrupt practice that is obstructing the employment of eligible young applicants. It is obvious that they are more concerned with their personal interests than the interest of the country. They are also taking away the opportunity for fresh ideas and perspectives to be injected into the civil service system.
Furthermore, the actions of these civil servants are a clear violation of the principles of fairness and equity. The new retirement age for teachers was introduced to address the shortage of qualified teachers in the country. It was not meant to be a loophole for civil servants who have reached the mandatory retirement age to remain in service.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had, during the 2020 World Teachers Day, promised that teachers in Nigeria would enjoy a new retirement age. The Federal Executive Council, in January 2021, approved the bill. Buhari then transmitted it to the National Assembly in June of that year. The instrument, which has now become law, increased the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 years.
The legislation also extends the duration of service for teachers in the country from 35 to 40 years. However, section 1 of the Act clearly states that teachers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on the attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.
The provision of Section 3 of the Act provides that the Public Service Rule or any Legislation that requires a person to retire from the Public Service at 60 years of age or after 35 years of Service shall not apply to Teachers in Nigeria.
The new retirement age for teachers is a law which mandates that once one is engaged as a teacher under the government, whether federal, state or local, his/her retirement age is 65 unless otherwise he/she decides to retire earlier than that.
As a newspaper, we are concerned that the Nigerian civil service system, which has long been plagued by corruption, nepotism, and other forms of malfeasance, is ingeniously devising other methods of rendering the service ineffective. Elsewhere, in other countries, civil servants clamour to go on early retirement so as to take what they consider a deserved rest. But in Nigeria, things are done differently. In this particular case, these spent forces, intent on cheating, have condemnably become a drain on the country’s resources. They have turned the civil service into a personal fiefdom where they can do as they please without any regard for the public interest.
As a newspaper, we urge the government to take decisive action to address the rot in the civil service system, and specifically, to stop this corruptive influence from festering. It must ensure that civil servants who have reached the mandatory retirement age are retired promptly. It must also put in place mechanisms to prevent civil servants from manipulating their way into getting posted to schools or other positions so as to remain in service.
The government must also invest in the training and development of younger civil servants to ensure that they are given the opportunity to grow and develop along their career path. This will not only help to address the shortage of qualified civil servants but also inject fresh ideas and perspectives into the civil service system.
Maybe, the actions of the civil servants who are refusing to retire are a clear example of the rot in the Nigerian civil service system. But it is also important to find out why anyone would decline the offer to take a rest after years of service. In our opinion, most of them are scared about life in retirement after seeing the hell their former colleagues are going through to access their retirement entitlements. It is imperative that the government must put measures in place to allay this apprehension by improving the pension scheme and enhance processes towards paying those out of service their due.
In our considered opinion, the government must take decisive action to address this issue and ensure that civil servants who have reached the mandatory retirement age did not stay a day longer. It must also invest in the training and development of younger civil servants to inject fresh ideas and perspectives into the civil service system. It must, even more importantly, treat retirees nicely. It is only by so doing that the country can hope to build a civil service system that serves the public interest.
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