A bill that aims to increase the retirement age for members of the armed forces has successfully passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill, co-sponsored by Gaza Gbefwi, a legislator from Nasarawa, along with seven other lawmakers, proposed to elevate the retirement age for armed forces members from 60 to 65, and extend their years of service from 35 to 40.
Nairametrics gathers that the bill seeks to amend section 18 of the Armed Forces Act 2004 and introduce a new subsection (subsection 4) into section 30.
What the bill states
This proposed legislation would require that service chiefs (including army, air, and naval staff) be appointed from within their respective services. However, the chief of defense staff can be chosen from any of the armed forces.
To ensure that experienced officers continue to serve the nation, the bill mandates that military officers “compulsorily” retire upon the appointment of their subordinates as service chiefs. They must also be engaged by the chief of defense staff as senior technical consultants for training officers in defense college, armed forces staff college, or related institutions.
Many senior military officers often face forced retirement when their juniors are appointed as service chiefs.
What he said
Gbefwi spoke on Thursday during the debate on the bill, and said,
- “The objective of the bill is to ensure that serving military officers learn from the wealth of experience of senior military officers compulsorily retired as a result of the appointment of their juniors as chief of defense staff or service chiefs.
- “It also aims to provide for 40 years of service or 65 years of age, whichever comes first, as the new retirement age for members of the armed forces.”
The bill, on the other hand, does not apply to individuals who have been retired due to disciplinary actions or for health reasons.
