Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has signed an Executive Order increasing the retirement age of academic staff in state-owned tertiary institutions to 65 years, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
The announcement was made on Friday by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Muhammad Bello, during a news briefing.
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Bello explained that the decision followed a meeting between Governor Sani and representatives of academic unions from state-owned tertiary institutions. He noted that academics had presented five key demands during the meeting, with the retirement age issue requiring immediate resolution.
“His Excellency promised to resolve the retirement age issue within 48 hours, and he fulfilled that promise by signing Executive Order Number 2 of 2024 on Thursday,” Bello stated.
The new retirement age applies to staff at Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic Zaria, the College of Education Gidan Waya, and the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Bello emphasized that the order took effect immediately upon signing on Thursday.
The commissioner highlighted the governor’s commitment to ensuring the smooth implementation of the policy across all state-owned tertiary institutions. He also recounted the series of requests presented during the meeting, many of which had remained unresolved prior to Governor Sani’s administration.
“There were five fundamental requests. The first had to do with outstanding salaries and welfare benefits for the staff of these institutions. His Excellency has graciously agreed to consider those outstanding payments and benefits,” Bello said.
“However, given the financial constraints that the state is facing, affordable amounts will be paid in staggered form until the outstanding liability is redeemed. That was the resolution.”
On the issue of institutional funding, Bello explained that the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system had affected tertiary institutions in the state.
“They complained about the funding required to run the day-to-day activities of the institutions. As a prelude to a complete reversal of the inclusion of tertiary institutions from the TSA, His Excellency has also graciously agreed to commence sharing the total revenue being collected by these institutions.
“There will be a sharing formula within the first quarter of next year that will be mutually agreed upon, which will be fair to all parties,” he added.
Bello further noted that the retirement age issue stemmed from a national policy mandating 65 years as the standard for academic staff across similar institutions in the country.
“Unfortunately, Kaduna State had been left behind, but with this move, we are now aligned with the national standard,” he stated.
