Lagos Approves 10-day Paternity Leave

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has approved 10 days paternity leave for any male civil servant in the state whose wife delivers a new baby.

The measure is to afford them the opportunity of attending to developmental needs of the child.

Fashola also jerked up the maternity leave from three months to six, to allow the nursing mother give their child exclusive breastfeeding for the period.

Head of Service, HOS, Mrs. Oluseyi William, who disclosed this yesterday, at a joint briefing with the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba and Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, in Ikeja, said the new approved policy took immediate effect.

According to Williams, “male officers to whom a new baby (or babies in case of multiple birth) is born would be entitled to 10 working days paternity leave in relation to and at the time of his spouse’s first two deliveries.

“Female officers shall be entitled to 24 weeks maternity leave with full pay in case of her first two deliveries and this commences, at least, two weeks before the expected delivery date.

“Any third and subsequent deliveries by any employee shall only attract 12 weeks maternity leave for the female officer, while the male officer shall not be entitled to paternity leave in that circumstance.

“In other words, leave entitlement in respect of the third and subsequent children of an employee shall be in line with the extant (now old) maternity leave regulations.

“It would be recalled that in the old dispensation, female officers were entitled to only 12 weeks maternity leave at every point of delivery, while male officers do not enjoy paternity leave. The 12 weeks was to be taken six weeks before and six weeks after delivery.” [Vanguard]