The Federal Government of Nigeria has allocated Funds to the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in the Service Wide Vote for the pre- retirement training programme for various categories of retiring staff of Federal Parastatals in the country.
According to the BPSR Director-General, Dasuki Arabi, the move will help retiring civil servant to plan properly on how they will start a new quality life after their fulfilling service years.
Arabi stated that the FG remains dedicated to improving the well-being of retirees through training and other reforms.
According to him, the bureau is arranging a national conference, which, hopefully, will be chaired by President Bola Tinubu, to address pension issues and reform the system to enhance the lives of retirees.
The DG also noted that the pre-retirement training programme for retiring officers of federal parastatals is one of the bureau’s cardinal programmes.
He further stated that the essence of the training is to prepare retiring officers for the future and ensure that the quality of their lives does not deteriorate.
“As most people find it difficult to live after their retirement because they failed to plan for it, the training according to the DG will help the civil servants to plan.
He said the restored program, which the federal government initiated over a decade ago, is an individual development and empowerment program, which is aimed at providing practical entrepreneurship training for prospective retirees to venture into any business of their choice.
The training will also help retirees prepare to better adjust to the challenges of life after retirement, for them to have personal understanding of financial planning, help them appreciate the types of business opportunities that are open to them, as well as provide them with guides on how they can access their terminal benefits.
He also said the training is particularly important because it will help the retiree to cope with extended family pressures he became so used to during his service years and even sustain them. It is also good for his personal health and wellness, because idleness may seriously harm the body that has been actively working for over 30 years.
Also, the intervention will help ensure the retirees’ financial stability, thereby reducing the rate of unemployment and poverty, aside helping in increasing the country’s fortune of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the DG.
He also said the training will help the potential retiree to leave a legacy for his family to inherit even after his death, since they cannot inherit the job he spent more than 30 years living on.
Signed:
Aliyu Umar A, FNIPR
Head, Strategic Communication
Bureau of Public Service Reforms
