National Assembly Seeks Bill Approval For Judicial Officers To Retire At 70

The National Assembly has transmitted to the president, Muhammadu Buhari, a bill seeking a uniform age of retirement for judicial officers in the country.The retirement of judicial officers in the country will now be raised to 70 years from 65.

This is as the Senate on Tuesday during its plenary directed the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) to transmit a constitution alteration bill No. 20 to Buhari for assent in line with the provisions of the Authentication Act.

Information Nigeria reports that the bill was part of the bills proposed for the constitution alteration transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for concurrence last year but not part of the 35 that secured the required approval of 24 out of 36 State assemblies.

But, in a new development, the Senate on Tuesday said the bill seeks to ensure uniformity in the retirement age and pension rights of judicial officers of superior courts of records.

The bill, which extends the retirement age from 65 to 70 defines a judicial officer of superior courts of record thus: “A judicial officer appointed to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Federal High Court, National Industrial Court, High Court of Federal Capital Territory Abuja, High Court of a State, Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Sharia Court of Appeal of a State and Customary Court of Appeal of a State may retire when he/she attains the age of sixty-five years and he shall cease to hold office when he attains the age of seventy years.”

The Deputy Senate president, Ovie Omo-Agege, in a motion, notified the lawmakers that the Sokoto State House of Assembly has approved the Constitution Alteration Bill No. 20 and forwarded its resolution to the National Assembly.

According to him, with the approval of the Sokoto assembly, the bill on the uniform retirement age of judicial officers has met the provisions of Section 9(2) of the constitution for passage.

The Senate, after adopting the motion, then directed the Clerk to the National Assembly to transmit the bill to the president for his assent.

It would be recalled that the parliament had earlier transmitted 35 constitution alteration bills to the president for assent out of which 19 were rejected and 16 signed into law.