Author: The Nation

Former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili has appealed to the Federal Government to revisit the statutory retirement age for qualified professionals, suggesting 70 years peg.

Odili, who is the Founder and Pro-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), noted that experience has shown that those categories of professionals are retired almost at the peak of their career, as they do very well in their after retirement jobs.

He spoke at the 5th graduation ceremony of the institution, held at the School campus in the outskirts of Port Harcourt, the state capital yesterday.

Odili, who is also a medical doctor equally canvassed for increased salaries and allowances for qualified professionals medical personnel inclusive, to curb the disturbing menace of brain drain in the country.

He said, “Your Excellency, at this point, permit me to draw attention to what I consider a silent national crisis; the exodus of teachers and clinicians in medical education. Across the country, no state is spared. It’s a silent crisis.

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“Your Excellency, ask any administrator of any teacher in your institution. They will tell you that we have yearning gaps of qualified professionals who should help us train these children.

“Take a special note at these two things: the retirement age for qualified professionals must be increased to at least 70 years. I can tell you from field experience, most of our professors in parliament are people who have retired from other universities. And they are doing very, very well. Thank you, sir.

“The number two thing that can be done, and done easily, is a review of their remuneration upwards. Sir, with all due respect, judges cannot draw cases for six months.

“Let me appeal to you, sir, and to the Executive Secretary, your Excellency, to do something. Let’s make our pasture greener than it is now,” he further appealed.

Speaking further, he lauded Fubara for taking steps to align with the Federal Government and enjoined members of the State Executive Council to support the decision.

“With what you have done as our government, the attention you pay to education and health, highly commendable. I’m sure no state in Nigeria can boast of the quality of zonal hospitals that you have built.

“We have visited here and there, and we know that your Zonal hospitals can compete with some teaching hospitals outside Rivers State. So keep it up; the emphasis of primary healthcare is excellent.

“And you’ve tailored your programme to align properly with what Mr. President is doing in the health sector. So far, not less than 500 infrastructural developments have taken place across the country. So the alignment of Rivers State with the federal government is perfect.

“We support it. We encourage it. Because our people are in the kitchen, like a national cake is baked.”

PUMS is a mono specialised institution, focused in the training of medical personnel. The university which began seven years ago boasts of having graduated over 300 medical workers, including over 100 qualified medical doctors in five convocation.

Also speaking at the event, Fubara hailed PAMO University for transforming the youths of the State, describing the university as the flagship of medical education in the country and the government is happy to partner with it.

Represented by the Deputy Governor of the State, Prof. Ngozi Ordu, Fubara said, “as a government,  we’re happy, the resources we’re spending in training the children are yielding profits, dividends. We’re delighted that the medical graduates will fill the gap in the medical practice.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the  Acting Vice Chancellor of the School, Prof. Smith Jaja noted that a total of 126 graduands from different facilities, with seven of them graduating with first class (Honours), 23 in the second class (upper), and 11 in second class (lower), categories.

Also, among the 86 medical graduands, seven of them obtained Distinction cumulative in 23 subjects, among others.