BREAKING: ‘FG Was Ready to Pay N150,000 Minimum Wage, But States Rejected It’ — Ex-Head of Service Bukar Goni
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Former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni, says the Federal Government was ready and had the money to pay civil servants a N150,000 minimum wage. But the plan failed because state governments, local councils, and the private sector pushed back.
Goni is now calling for an urgent change to the 1999 Constitution. He wants minimum wage removed from the concurrent legislative list so that states, local governments, and private employers can pay based on what they can afford.
He spoke while delivering the keynote lecture at the Nigeria Public Service Lecture Series and Awards. The event was held at NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja. It was organised by the Bureau of Public Service to mark the 2026 United Nations Public Service Day.
Top officials at the event included Inspector-General of Police Tunde Disu, who was represented by AIG Uche Ifeanyi; Prof. Tunji Olaopa; and Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya, represented by the state Head of Service, Prof. Mauzu Shehu.
The theme of the lecture was “Transforming Public Institutions: Advancing Innovation, Participation and Inclusion.”
Goni recalled how tough the minimum wage talks were. As Chairman of the Minimum Wage Negotiations Committee, he said negotiations dragged on for days under serious pressure. State governments, local councils, labour unions, and private sector reps could not agree.
He believes changing the constitution is the only way to build a realistic wage system that matches what each employer can actually pay.
“The Federal Government was willing to pay 150,000 as minimum wage for workers, but the states and local governments said they cannot afford it,” Goni said. “In the case of the representatives of the private sector, they said, ‘Look, we cannot pay. You have increased fuel prices, you have increased tariffs on electricity, so the only way we can pay is to downsize.’”
“And for us at the federal level, downsizing will compound Nigeria’s problems. Nobody wants to hear that someone has been asked to go home from work because the Federal Government increased the minimum wage,” he added.
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