The proposal to raise the retirement age for teachers and other civil personnel from 60 to 65 years old has been challenged by the Oyo State Government, which claims that doing so will prevent recent graduates from finding work.  

A similar extension for clinically skilled health workers had previously been allowed by the federal government, which claimed that keeping experienced staff would improve training and healthcare delivery.  

Later, the government was asked by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to implement the same strategy throughout all public service sectors.

The new regulation has already been implemented in a few states.  Biodun Oyebanji, the governor of Ekiti State, recently granted a five-year extension for teachers, raising the service length to 40 years and the retiring age to 65.  

Additionally, Niger State declared that it will go into effect on January 1, 2026.  Mr. Segun Olayiwola, the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, stated at the second Multidisciplinary International Conference of the Postgraduate College, Lead City University, Ibadan, that the State Executive Council had discussed the matter in great detail before coming to a decision.

According to him, “We discussed this matter over five executive meetings.

Although teachers were the main focus of the original proposal, other civil servants also desired participation.  We ultimately came to the conclusion that raising the retirement age would prevent younger individuals from finding employment.

“In a state like Niger, the population is smaller and the number of graduates is limited.

However, those scheduled to go this year would stay for a further five years in Oyo State if the retirement age were raised to 65.

That means the 15,000 teachers we recruited recently might not have had that chance if their seniors had stayed on.”

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