Sanusi Lamido calls for the sack of 50% civil servants in Nigeria

The Nigerian Central Bank governor on Monday called for the sack of 50% of civil servants in Nigeria because according to him, 'the country spends 70 per cent of its earnings on salaries and entitlements of civil servants.'

“You have to fire half of the civil service because the revenue of the government is supposed to be for 167 million Nigerians. Any society where government spends 70 per cent of its revenue on its civil service has a problem. It is unsustainable,” he said.

Organized Labour, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the Civil Liberties Organisation and Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union, have all condemned his statement, some asking for his immediate sack.