By President Bola Tinubu has approved a salary increase of between 30% and 80% for about 250,000 personnel of the Armed Forces, raising the military’s annual wage bill from ₦660 billion to ₦924 billion, an increase of ₦264 billion. It is the biggest upward review of military salaries under his administration.
The new pay structure takes effect from September 1, 2026, and grants the highest increases to junior personnel. Soldiers from the rank of private to staff sergeant will receive an 80% salary increase, warrant officers to colonels will get 50%, while brigadier-generals to generals will earn 30% more.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the package on Tuesday, saying the review was in recognition of the sacrifices military personnel continue to make in the fight against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. He said the graduated structure scales inversely with rank, with the highest percentage increases going to the most junior personnel.
President Tinubu linked the pay rise directly to the sacrifices troops continue to make, saying the men and women who help keep the country safe must be supported and appreciated in the course of their duties. He said his administration would continue to prioritize troop welfare and modernize the Armed Forces by providing the weapons and technological tools needed for their work, adding that no nation can achieve greatness without security. He urged benefiting personnel to take the gesture as a sign of the administration’s appreciation for their service.
The increase comes barely two weeks after Tinubu approved the restructuring of the Nigerian Army into four additional divisions aimed at improving response times to regional security threats.
Defense Minister Commends Approval
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), commended the President for approving the new salary structure, describing it as a major boost to troop welfare and operational effectiveness. In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, Musa said the review would help reduce financial pressures on troops and boost morale among personnel deployed across the North-East and other areas battling insurgency, banditry, and crude oil theft. He assured the President that the military would reciprocate through greater dedication, discipline, and improved operational performance and reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to modernizing equipment and improving personnel welfare.
Ex-Military Chiefs React
Retired senior military officers welcomed the pay rise while urging the government to complement it with better equipment and logistics. A former Director of Army Public Relations, retired Brig. Gen. Sani Usman described the decision as timely, saying soldiers deserve to be among the best-paid public servants given the hazardous nature of their duties, and that the 80% increment would help offset the country’s inflationary trend.
Retired Commodore Omatseye Nesiama called the increase a welcome development that addresses long-overdue disparities in military remuneration, though he argued further adjustments were needed to bridge gaps among senior officer ranks, and suggested the increase should extend to all security agencies exposed to similar risks.
Retired Brig. Gen. Bashir Adewinbi said the salary increase would boost troop morale and make military service more attractive to young Nigerians, but stressed that higher salaries alone would not resolve the military’s operational challenges, calling for modern weapons, improved accommodation, quality uniforms, and adequate logistics.
Retired Brig. Gen. George Emdin urged caution, noting that previous welfare improvements had often been undermined by poor implementation, saying morale gains would depend on whether the increase is actually paid out.
Retired Rear Admiral Othiniel Filafa said improved salaries, political will, and effective deployment of equipment were all essential to enhancing the Armed Forces’ operational effectiveness, noting that the Federal Government had made commendable efforts in procuring platforms for the Air Force.
The Special Adviser to the Sokoto State Governor on Security Matters, retired Col. Ahmed Usman, described the approval as a strategic investment in national peace and stability, while urging the government to complement it with modern operational equipment, training, insurance, healthcare, and housing for personnel and their families.
Serving Personnel Withhold Celebration
Serving military personnel welcomed the announcement but said they would reserve judgment until the increases reflect in their accounts. One officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said poor welfare had been affecting recruitment and that the review was a step in the right direction, though the government could still do more for junior officers and soldiers given the economic situation.
Another serving senior officer shared a breakdown showing his monthly salary would rise from ₦362,405.67 to ₦543,608.51 under the 50 per cent increase, an addition of ₦181,202.84, though he noted it still does not compare with what his contemporaries outside the military earn.
Other personnel echoed similar sentiments, saying the news was encouraging but that implementation remained the real test, with one soldier questioning whether the increase would be sufficient to offset the country’s economic challenges.
The salary review comes amid growing calls for improved military welfare. Retired military personnel had recently given the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, a seven-day ultimatum to facilitate an increase in soldiers’ salaries to at least ₦250,000, following an earlier disclosure by the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, that the monthly salary of the lowest-ranked soldier had been raised from ₦50,000 to ₦100,000.
Senators Commend Tinubu
The Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence, Senator Ahmad Lawan, praised the approval, describing it as a timely intervention that would boost troop morale. Yar’Adua said the increase, affecting about 250,000 personnel from September 1, demonstrated the administration’s commitment to troop welfare, and linked the salary review to recent efforts to expand Army divisions, saying both measures would strengthen operational effectiveness and national security. He said the Senate would continue working with the executive to ensure full implementation.
Lawan described the review as a “compassionate and strategic intervention,” saying its graduated structure was fair in giving greater incentives to junior personnel who bear much of the burden of frontline operations. He urged the Armed Forces to reciprocate through professionalism and stronger inter-service cooperation, stressing that improved funding should be matched with greater coordination and intelligence sharing among security services.
