Inclusivity/Gender
Reps vows to enact law granting free healthcare, tax exemptions, monthly stipends for elderly people
Written By: Emmanuel Ikhenebome
29 Nov 2025 04:41 AM
Abuja, FCT – The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its determination to pass comprehensive legislation that will guarantee free medical treatment in all government health facilities, total tax exemptions, and monthly stipends for older persons across Nigeria.
Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed this midweek during a public hearing on the Older Persons (Rights and Privileges) Bill, 2025, organised by the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Represented by the Chief Whip, Hon. Usman Bello Kumo (APC, Gombe), the Speaker described the proposed law as a moral and constitutional obligation to Nigeria’s senior citizens.
“This bill seeks to give legal backing to the welfare, dignity and economic security of our senior citizens deserve after decades of contributing to nation-building,” Hon. Kumo said on behalf of the Speaker.
Key highlights of the bill include:
– Free medical services and drugs for all persons aged 60 and above in federal, state and local government health facilities
– Full exemption from personal income tax, value-added tax on essential goods, and other levies for senior citizens
– Establishment of a monthly stipend (social pension) for older persons, especially those without retirement benefits
– Priority access to public services, discounted transportation, and protection against all forms of abuse and discrimination
– Creation of an Older Persons’ Rights Commission to monitor implementation and handle complaints and enforce compliance
The public hearing attracted senior citizens’ groups, civil society organisations, pensioners’ associations, and representatives of the Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs and Health.
Many stakeholders praised the bill as long overdue, noting that Nigeria remains one of the few African countries without a comprehensive national policy or law dedicated to the rights and welfare of older persons.
The Chairman of the Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, assured Nigerians that the 10th House will fast-track the bill to ensure it is passed and transmitted to the Senate before the end of the current legislative year.
Once enacted, the Older Persons (Rights and Privileges) Act will domesticate provisions of the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons, which Nigeria signed in 2016 but is yet to fully implement.
The committee is expected to collate memoranda and inputs from the public hearing and present a clean copy of the bill for second reading in the coming weeks.
Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed this midweek during a public hearing on the Older Persons (Rights and Privileges) Bill, 2025, organised by the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Represented by the Chief Whip, Hon. Usman Bello Kumo (APC, Gombe), the Speaker described the proposed law as a moral and constitutional obligation to Nigeria’s senior citizens.
“This bill seeks to give legal backing to the welfare, dignity and economic security of our senior citizens deserve after decades of contributing to nation-building,” Hon. Kumo said on behalf of the Speaker.
Key highlights of the bill include:
– Free medical services and drugs for all persons aged 60 and above in federal, state and local government health facilities
– Full exemption from personal income tax, value-added tax on essential goods, and other levies for senior citizens
– Establishment of a monthly stipend (social pension) for older persons, especially those without retirement benefits
– Priority access to public services, discounted transportation, and protection against all forms of abuse and discrimination
– Creation of an Older Persons’ Rights Commission to monitor implementation and handle complaints and enforce compliance
The public hearing attracted senior citizens’ groups, civil society organisations, pensioners’ associations, and representatives of the Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs and Health.
Many stakeholders praised the bill as long overdue, noting that Nigeria remains one of the few African countries without a comprehensive national policy or law dedicated to the rights and welfare of older persons.
The Chairman of the Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, assured Nigerians that the 10th House will fast-track the bill to ensure it is passed and transmitted to the Senate before the end of the current legislative year.
Once enacted, the Older Persons (Rights and Privileges) Act will domesticate provisions of the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons, which Nigeria signed in 2016 but is yet to fully implement.
The committee is expected to collate memoranda and inputs from the public hearing and present a clean copy of the bill for second reading in the coming weeks.
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