The Federal Government is working on a proposal to increase the retirement age for medical and dental consultants in Nigeria from 60 to 70 years.
A committee set up to review this matter has completed its findings and is expected to meet again on July 7 to finalise the process.
The committee is made up of members from the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, and the Joint Health Sector Unions.
Their task is to prepare a memo that will recommend the new retirement age for experienced doctors and consultants.
In February, President Bola Tinubu approved the increase of retirement age from 60 to 65 for doctors and health workers.
Now, the new plan targets consultants, seeking to extend their service period by an additional five years.
The committee has already submitted its initial report, while the Ministry of Health has also made its input.
Both reports will be reviewed together at the upcoming meeting.
Afterward, the final proposal will be forwarded to the Head of Civil Service of the Federation for further review.
If approved, it could be included in the agenda of the National Council of Establishment, which may hold a meeting later in July.
Apart from the retirement age matter, MDCAN has also reminded the government of outstanding payments due to doctors.
These include salary arrears from January to July 2023 under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure and unpaid clinical duty allowances.
The group has given the government until August to settle the debts, warning that many doctors are unhappy with the delay in payment.
