Bayelsa health workers get 65 years retirement age

Health workers in Bayelsa State Civil Service can now serve up to 40 years and retire at the age of 65 years, instead of 35 and 60 years, the State Government has declared.

This is part of a list of new approvals that cover new allowances, promotion arrears, and other welfare packages for workers in the mainstream civil service, local government and education sectors.

A statement by Doubara Atasi, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, said the new packages, which the Government announced during an expanded meeting with labour leaders and top government officials, run into several billions of naira.

The Government said it was irrevocably committed to prioritising the welfare of its workerforce and strengthening its bureaucracy to deliver more dividends of good governance to the people.

Peter Akpe, Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, who gave a breakdown of the approvals, said Governor Douye Diri approved the elongation of service years and retirement age of health workers.

He said Diri also approved the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund, the revised earned allowances, as well as implementation of the 2025 promotions and arrears for staff of the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH).

Other approvals include uniform allowance for primary health workers and nurses, promotion and step increment arrears, specialist allowance for doctors on CONMESS 5, and the implementation of gratuities and pensions for staff remunerated on the CONHESS salary structure at the Environmental Sanitation Authority before their retirement.

Akpe said that Government and the organised labour are strategic partners in strengthening the bureaucracy for effective service delivery, and that the present administration has done much for workers through its labour-friendly policies and programmes.

He, therefore, called on the various labour unions and their affiliate bodies to support government and its policies to sustain and strengthen the cordial relationship existing between the Prosperity Administration and its workforce.

He said, “Labour and government are one and the same because whether we like it or not, all of us are put together to deliver governance. Labour is the arm that deals with the welfare of the bureaucracy, and you know that without the bureaucracy, political governance will be in shambles.

“I hope you know the source of bureaucracy. The crafters needed to ensure that there is institutionalisation of the transmission from one political leadership to another. That means politicians come and go, but the civil servants, the bureaucracy remains.

“You will agree with me that this government under the leadership of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, has always recognised and intentionally always ensured that the bureaucracy is strengthened.

“I believe that all of you that have been in governance, and your leadership of unions did not just start. You have your evolution over the years and you should also know how it had been, how it was, and how it is now on issues of welfare.

“Labour should appreciate what this government is doing for workers in this state. His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, has given an unprecedented approval to virtually all the 40-point demands made by labour on government. It had never been witnessed in the history of this State.”

Addressing journalists after the meeting, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, stated that Government had holistically looked into the demands of labour and had approved a lot for them.

Koku-Obiyai said Diri approved over 95% of their demands, stressing that the Prosperity Government was committed to improving the welfare of the people for better living despite the present harsh economic realities in the country.