The Head of Service of the Federation (HoS), Mr. Danladi Kifasi, has debunked claims that retirement age for civil servants is now 30 years, as against the existing civil service rules of 35 years in service or if they reach the age of 60, whichever comes first.
The HoS made this clarification yesterday while reacting to a recent media report on the issue.
A newspaper had reported last Sunday that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the immediate retirement of workers that have stayed more than 30 years in the civil service.
However, Mr. Kifasi rubbished the story, saying it is contrary to the public service rule of engagement, which prescribes mandatory retirement age for civil servants.
A statement signed by director of Communications for the HoS, Haruna Imrana, noted that there is no time Mr. Kifasi instructed that civil servants who have served up to 30 years may have to leave the service before the end of 2015 to pave way for fresh bloods into the system.
He further stated that no memo has been raised to that effect by the HoS to all permanent secretaries as well as heads of agencies and parastatals of the federal government for compliance, “because if the years of retirement need to be changed, it has to go through various procedures for approval and not by raising memo for it”.
Imrana added that “At no time has the office issued the said memo or gave a directive to that effect.
“The rumour ought to have been cleared from a credible source in the office before going to press. The public needs to be provided with correct information to avoid sending the wrong signals as the said report intended to do.
“The office of the Head of Civil Service is always open to the press at all times for clarification on matters concerning the civil service.
“We appeal to the media to clarify and balance all stories from credible sources and get facts right before publication to avoid sending the wrong information to the public, and possibly raising unnecessary panic and embarrassment”.
