The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill that seeks upward review of retirement age and years of service for health workers in Nigeria.
The Bill sponsored by Hon. Adewale Hammed also seeks to retain experienced healthcare workers so that they can continue to contribute their expertise in the sector.
Leading the debate on the general principles of the Bill at the plenary on Thursday, Hameed recall that the Harmonised Retirement Age for Health Workers in Nigeria Bill, 2024 was read for the first time in as House Bill 1577, on Thursday, 10th October 2024.
He explained that Nigeria’s healthcare sector is currently experiencing a significant depletion in both the number and quality of professionals due to two main factors — a substantial number of health workers are migrating abroad in search of the proverbial golden fleece — a trend difficult to stop given the fundamental human rights of the individuals concerned.
The lawmaker added that the second reason being the compulsory retirement age of 60 and the mandatory 35 years of service, as stipulated in the public service rules, was contributing to the exodus of experienced professionals.
Hammed noted that while we cannot control the former, the latter could be addressed through the upward review of the retirement age which woulf be achieved by this Bill.
He stressed: “Mr. Speaker, my respected Colleagues, increasing the retirement age will retain experienced healthcare workers, allowing them to continue contributing their expertise to the sector. This is particularly important at this time that the healthcare delivery system faces significant challenges, especially a shortage of skilled professionals.
“We have precedence for such measures, as the federal government has previously reviewed upward, the retirement age for certain categories of public servants, including judges, lecturers, and teachers.”
Hammed recalled that in May 2021, the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment reached an agreement with stakeholders in the health sector to increase the retirement age for health workers from 60 to 65 years, hence the need to back up the agreement with legislation.
He said that Clauses 2 and 3 of the Bill provide for: “(2) Health Workers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.”
“(3) Any law or the Public Service Rules requiring a person to retire from the Public Service at 60 years of age or after 35 years of service shall not apply to Health Workers in Nigeria.”
The lawmaker argued that Bill was a well-thought-out initiative that addresses the needs of the country’s healthcare sector.
