VIDEO: FG Approves 14 Days Paternity Leave

The Federal Government has approved a 14-day paternity leave for fathers with newborn babies in the country.

Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Folasade Yemi-Esan, announced this on Wednesday at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“Paternity leave is the leave that is approved for men when their spouses or wives have given birth to a newborn baby,” she told State House correspondents in the nation’s capital.

“Or if the husband and wife have just adopted a baby of less than four months, then the man is entitled to paternity leave of about 14 days.

“That is what has been approved for men so that the men and their babies also can bond well together. It’s important because we want the young children and the youth to really bond properly with their fathers, just as they bond well with their mothers.”

READ ALSO: Okowa Signs Delta Anti-Open Grazing Bill Into Law

Yemi-Esan explained that the approval of the new duration of paternity leave was one of the major reforms introduced into the nation’s civil service.

She stated that the last time the Federal Government reviewed its Public Service Rules (PSR) was in 2008, thus the need for the latest review.

According to the head of civil service, workers’ leave will now be calculated based on working days rather than the initial calendar days.

“So, this (14 days) is the time that has been approved now for men to bond at the early stages.

“Especially at the early stages of a child’s life, that is when it’s very important for this bonding to take place,” she added.

She also briefed reporters on the efforts taken by the government to tackle the issue of discrepancies between the degree and the Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates in the government workforce.

Yemi-Esan stated that while the government had already taken steps in that regard, it would not reflect in the public service rules.

“On the discrepancies between HND and degree programme, it is in the scheme of service that this will be reflected, not in the PSR … and currently, we are reviewing the scheme of service,” she said.