RismadarVoice Reporters
September 19, 2026
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for the harmonisation of salary and grade structures across Nigeria’s federal and state civil services, saying public officers occupying equivalent positions should be placed on comparable scales irrespective of whether they work for the Federal Government or a state government.
Jonathan proposed Yenagoa during the foundation-laying and fundraising ceremony for the Bayelsa State Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries’ Secretariat Complex.
His proposal focuses on standardising the structure for comparable public-service positions, rather than introducing one identical salary for every civil servant regardless of rank, profession, or responsibility.
Jonathan illustrated his position with directors in the civil service. He recalled discovering while serving as Bayelsa State governor that directors in the state service retired on Grade Level 16, while directors in the federal service could attain Grade Level 17.
He said his administration subsequently created Grade Level 17 for Bayelsa directors and redesignated Level 16 as the deputy-director grade, bringing the state structure closer to the federal arrangement.
Jonathan extended the same argument to public universities, saying a professor in a state-owned university should receive the same salary as a professor holding an equivalent position in a federal university.
The proposal therefore calls for greater uniformity between federal and state salary scales and career-grade structures for equivalent positions, rather than a flat nationwide wage for all public employees.
Jonathan did not, in the reported remarks, present a detailed implementation framework, funding formula or proposed legislation for achieving the harmonisation. His comments were a policy proposal based partly on reforms he said he introduced while governing Bayelsa State.
