The renewed call by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) for the Federal Government to implement a 65 year retirement age for clinical health workers deserves urgent attention as Nigeria grapples with an escalating medical workforce crisis.
The demand is particularly significant at a time when experienced healthcare professionals are leaving the system while thousands of younger doctors continue to emigrate in search of better working conditions.
In February 2025, the Federal Government announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved an extension of the retirement age for clinically skilled health workers from 60 to 65 years, effective January 1, 2026.
However, following its National Executive Council meeting held from August 24 to 28, 2026, the NMA said implementation of the policy remained delayed.
The issue, therefore, is no longer primarily about policy approval but ensuring its full and effective implementation across the health system.
The urgency is underscored by Nigeria’s health workforce figures. In 2024, the country recorded 66,241 doctors, while 4,193 doctors and dentists reportedly left the country within the same year, with about 66 per cent heading to the United Kingdom.
Another study has also indicated that nearly half of Nigerian medical graduates emigrated within 15 years of obtaining their qualifications.
The continued exodus has intensified pressure on an already overstretched healthcare system, with poor remuneration, inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, heavy workloads, limited career opportunities and professional dissatisfaction among the major factors driving migration.
While younger doctors leave for better opportunities abroad, experienced professionals are also affected by poor facilities, insecurity and limited professional prospects.
The consequence is a significant loss of public investment in medical education and a widening gap between the country’s healthcare needs and the professionals available to meet them.
The NMA’s position therefore deserves serious consideration. Reaching the age of 60 should not automatically render a competent and experienced clinician professionally redundant.
Senior doctors possess years of diagnostic experience, specialist knowledge, institutional memory and valuable teaching and mentoring skills. Where they remain physically and mentally capable and willing to continue working, retaining them particularly in consultancy, teaching and mentorship roles could help strengthen the health system.
The same principle should extend to other critical professionals, including medical teachers, whose continued service can help bridge the gap while Nigeria trains and retains a new generation of healthcare workers.
However, extending the retirement age cannot be treated as a substitute for addressing the root causes of medical migration.
The government must simultaneously improve salaries and working conditions, provide functional hospitals and equipment, strengthen security, ensure reliable residency funding, expand career opportunities and implement collective agreements promptly. Rural and underserved areas should also receive stronger incentives to attract and retain medical professionals.
The Federal Government, state governments and relevant regulatory authorities should therefore move swiftly to remove administrative bottlenecks delaying the implementation of the 65 year retirement policy.