The federal government’s policy on the compulsory retirement of public servants that have spent eight years as directors in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) has stirred up public concern.
This has led to the House of Representatives to mandate its Committees on Public Service matters and Legislative Compliance to investigate.
House Leader, Rep. Julius Ihonvbere, Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, and Rep. Ishaya Lalu sponsored a motion on the floor of the House today, and was presented at the Plenary.
Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda said, the policy was contained in a Circular issued by the Head of Service (HoS), dated 27 July 2023, with reference No. HCSF/SPO/268/T3/2/37, titled “THE REVISED PUBLIC SERVICE RULES (PSR)”.
The circular, he said, instructed public servants to comply with the Public Service Rules, 2021, Section 8 (020810) (iv) (a), that stipulates compulsory retirement for directors after eight years, whether or not the director has reached the biological retirement age of 60 years or 35 years in service.
According to Rep.Chinda, the directive will affect teachers as it is in direct conflict with the ‘Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022’.
“Teachers are public servants with some as directors in the Federal Ministry of Education, it is therefore counterproductive for Directors to be compulsorily retired upon the expiration of eight (8) years in office as Directors when they have not attained the retirement.”
Chinda noted that there is lack of experienced, trained, youthful, and internationally exposed public servants at grade level 17 as Directors in the different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to drive the nation’s civil service for greater productivity.
He informed that, the Directors in various MDAs attained their positions through years of hard work, excellence, dedication, and management skills development through local and international training using Nigerian resources.
He lamented that, after building their capacities in various professional and administrative areas, the Directors are now facing threat of compulsory retirement from service upon reaching eight (8) years in the position despite not attaining 60 years or 35 years in public service.
