Public service c’ttee mulls higher retirement age

By Hassan Haruna Ginsau

The committee on public service at the National conference has been debating, amongst other issues increasing the retirement age of civil servants from 60 to 65.

Professor Yusuf Turaki, a professor of theology and social ethics, who is representing Kaduna state at the on-going National confab made this known to our reporter when discussing some of the major issues the committee is focusing on.

Said Turaki, “We have discussed a number of issues, in particular the size of the government, the money spent on running it, and salaries of civil servants. We have also looked into the retirement age for government workers, some committee members suggested the age of 60 years, and others argued it should be 65. We have not yet come to a conclusion on what the retirement age should be.”

The committee also resolved that civil servants should be hard working. They also debated what brings about poor quality of governance and a lack of development in this regard, while also looking into staff welfare that will motivate civil servants.

“We also took a close look at the issue of corruption. Corruption is a major drawback for the development of government. You will observe in Nigeria that things that should be done in little time or with little funds will be blown out of proportion, which eventually sabotages any efforts made,” said Turaki.

He noted that the committee also took into consideration the attitude and behaviour of civil servants, saying “a worker should be well behaved diligent, focused and hardworking. Unfortunately things like tribalism, selfishness, and greed stop us from carrying out our work in the manner we should, which fuels a lack of development in government.”

The committee’s area of concentration spans across all of the government’s workings, including all its Ministries, departments and agencies.

He expressed hope that the committees 3 sub-committees will conclude their work by some time this week.