Education

List of 16 States Still Not Following New Retirement Age Rule for Teachers

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 22nd, 2025.

List of 16 States Still Not Following New Retirement Age Rule for Teachers

Despite being introduced five years ago, the policy raising teachers’ retirement age to 65 has yet to be implemented in at least 16 Nigerian states.

The initiative, first unveiled by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2020 World Teachers’ Day celebration, aimed to extend the retirement age for educators to 65 years or 40 years of service—whichever comes first. The Federal Executive Council approved the bill in January 2021, and it was forwarded to the National Assembly in June of that year.

According to Section 1 of the Act, teachers are to retire compulsorily at the age of 65 or after four decades of pensionable service. Section 3 clarifies that existing public service rules—mandating retirement at 60 years or 35 years of service—do not apply to teaching professionals under this legislation.

However, recent findings based on data from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) show that 16 states have yet to adopt this policy. These states include Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers, and Sokoto.

The NUT noted that although Nasarawa State has commenced implementation, it did so with tough conditions attached, making full compliance challenging.

Meanwhile, the Academic Union of Senior Secondary Schools (ASUSS) has called on both federal and state governments to honor Buhari’s legacy by enforcing the new retirement age across all states. In a tribute to the late president, ASUSS urged the government to fully enact the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.

Signed by ASUSS National President, Comrade Sola Adigun, and Secretary General, Comrade Kenneth Okoh, the statement praised Buhari’s role in advancing educational reforms. However, it also highlighted growing frustration over the lack of action in many states more than two years after the law took effect.

“The continued delay in enforcing this law denies teachers the benefits they are entitled to and defeats the purpose of the federal legislation,” the union stated.

ASUSS called on President Bola Tinubu to engage state governors and other relevant authorities to ensure nationwide implementation, emphasizing the need for continuity, justice, and respe

ct for educators.