EXCLUSIVE: Over 150 Nigerian Education Ministry's Retired Senior Officials Still Paid Salaries As Teachers Suffer 12-Month Salary Delay

At least 150 retired senior officers of the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria have continued to stay beyond their statutory period in service contrary to the provision of the law, SaharaReporters has gathered.

SaharaReporters learned that the officers who were principals of Unity Schools, directors in the ministry, and senior education officers were recaptured into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) by the Ministry of Education after their retirement.

According to ministry sources who talked with SaharaReporters, the retired officials took advantage of the enactment of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act 2022, which raised the retirement age for teachers to 65 years of age or 40 years of service.

A copy of the law states that this new policy will go into effect on April 7, 2022, which means that teachers and officers who were slated to retire before that date would not benefit from the new rule.

A copy of the law obtained by SaharaReporters reads, “Commencement: [7th Day of April 2022] Teachers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.

“The Public Service Rule or any legislation that requires a person to retire from the Public Service at 60 years of age or after 35 years of service shall not apply to Teachers in Nigeria.”

A subsequent circular released from the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation dated May 22, 2022 also reinstated that the provision of the law supersedes any directive.

“…in view of the enactment of the "Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act 2022", I am directed to withdraw the "Guidelines on the Implementation of the New Retirement Age and Length of Service for the Teaching Profession" released by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. This is because the Act is superior to the Guideline.”

However, SaharaReporters gathered that despite the clear provision of the law and directive of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the senior officials who retired between January 1, 2021 and April 6, 2022 continued to stay in service.

“They did not stop coming to work after their retirement even though their salaries were stopped. Because it is automatic. Once you are due for retirement, the system (IPPIS) will stop your salary,” the source said.

The source continued: “They relied on a circular from the ministry to remain in service even when it was clearly against the newly signed law - Harmonization Age for Teachers.”

Education Ministry officials .pdf

SaharaReporters further gathered that the ministry has recaptured all the retired senior officers back to the IPPIS system and continued to pay them salaries.

“They were recaptured as new staff. They were recaptured on the IPPIS platform as new staff just to pave the way for them to continue receiving their salaries,” the source said.

Documents obtained by SaharaReporters also revealed that the ministry has already compiled the list of these senior officials to pay them arrears for the period IPPIS stopped their salaries.

“The arrears will be more than N7 million per person,” another source said.

This comes despite reports that the ministry still owes some junior officials who were employed as teachers for Unity Schools in 2018 and 2019 roughly a year's salaries, with no plan to pay them soon.

“The ministry keeps saying lack of funds is why the junior school teachers’ salary arrears have not been paid,” one of the sources said.

“They are people employed in 2018, and 2019 owed salaries by the ministry – almost 12 months’ salary. They are being owed because of the paucity of funds, according to the ministry.  

“Over 100 teachers of Federal Unity colleges were employed in 2018 and 2019.”

“The ministry is about to pay the arrears of all the recaptured senior officials who are supposed to have retired by now but are not really concerned about the arrears of federal government colleague teachers,” the source added.

When contacted, Mr Ben Bem Goong told SaharaReporters that he could not comment on the issue because he had been transferred from the ministry's Press and Public Relations Department to the Ministry of Livestock. 

He said he was transferred the previous week and not sure if the ministry had appointed a replacement.

Goong was until his transfer the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education.

Further efforts made by SaharaReporters to reach the ministry failed.