…upholds teachers’ retirement at 65
By Joseph Erunke, Abuja
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has ruled that teachers and education officers who become directors in the Federal Civil Service cannot be compulsorily retired after spending eight years in office, declaring that they are entitled to remain in service until they attain 65 years of age or complete 40 years of pensionable service.
In a landmark judgment delivered in Abuja on July 10, 2026, Justice O. Y. Anuwe nullified circulars issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education seeking to enforce the Federal Government’s eight-year tenure policy on directors who are teachers and education officers.
The court held that the circulars were inconsistent with the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, and therefore invalid to the extent that they applied to teachers and education officers.
The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/79/2025, was instituted by Rakiya Gambo Iliyasu, a Grade Level 17 Director in the University Education Department of the Federal Ministry of Education, who challenged the government’s directive requiring directors who had spent eight years in office to retire.
The claimant argued that as an Education Officer, she qualified as a teacher under the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, which guarantees compulsory retirement only at the age of 65 or after 40 years of pensionable service.
She contended that the February 2026 circulars issued by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Minister of Education violated the provisions of the Act by compelling her and other affected education directors to retire before reaching the statutory retirement age.
Delivering judgment, Justice O.Y. Anuwe agreed with the claimant, holding that the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act overrides any conflicting provisions of the Public Service Rules relating to retirement.
The judge ruled that Section 3 of the Act expressly exempts teachers from any Public Service Rule requiring retirement before the statutory age of 65 years or 40 years of pensionable service.
According to the court, the eight-year tenure policy contained in Rule 020909 of the Public Service Rules can no longer be applied to teachers and education officers, even where they occupy the position of director.
“A Teacher or Education Officer, whether he or she got to
