President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022 which increases the retirement age of teachers in public schools. Section 1 of the Act states that public school teachers shall compulsorily retire on the attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service.
Although, 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 after 35 years of service shall not apply to teachers in Nigeria.
This was disclosed on Friday in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu which stated that President Buhari also assented to other bills recently passed by the National Assembly.
According to the statement, President Buhari also signed into law the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021, which “establishes and provides a legal framework for the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, as a degree-awarding institution to provide academic and professional training”.
Other bills signed by the President include the Nigeria Law Reform Commission Act, 2022 which “repeals the Nigeria Law Reform Commission Act, Cap. N118, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Enact the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act, 2022 to facilitate the effective implementation of the Commission’s Law Reform Proposals and enhance its performance and bring the Law in conformity to best practices.”
The National Biotechnology Development Agency Act, 2022 “provides a legal framework for the National Biotechnology Development Agency to carry out research, create and develop public awareness in biotechnology in order to encourage private sector participation in the biotechnology industry in Nigeria”.
The Federal Medical Centre, Hong (Establishment) Act, 2022 “establishes the Federal Medical Centre, Hong, Adamawa State to provide a legal framework for its due management and administration”.
According to the Act, the center will be headed by a Medical Director appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Health.