President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday assented to a bill on the retirement age for staff of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

This was contained in a press statement signed by the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati.

“This law harmonises the compulsory retirement age of staff of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to be 65 years and exempts them from the Public Service Rule which requires a person to retire from the Public Service after serving for 35 years,” the statement reads.

Mr Abati said that the president also assented to the Bill for an Act to further amend the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No. 11, 1993.

“The new Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2012, limits the tenure of principal officers of universities to a single term of five years, while increasing the compulsory retirement age of staff in the professorial cadre and non-academic staff in Nigerian universities to 70 and 65 years respectively.”