Goodluck Jonathan Advocates Uniform Civil Service Salaries

On September 18, former President Goodluck Jonathan called for the harmonization of salary structures and career grades within Nigeria's federal and state civil services. Speaking at the foundation-laying and fundraising ceremony for the secretariat complex of the Bayelsa State Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Jonathan argued that public servants performing similar duties should receive comparable remuneration and status.

He stated that the civil service should be viewed as a single system, regardless of whether an officer is at the federal or state level. Jonathan recalled his tenure as governor of Bayelsa State, where he initiated reforms to align the state civil service with the Federal Civil Service, including the creation of Grade Level 17 for directors in the state service to match their federal counterparts.

He emphasized that a director in the Bayelsa State Civil Service should be on the same grade level as a director in the federal civil service.