Nigerian Army Salary Per Month (Current Breakdown)

Thousands of Nigerians visit the website of the Nigerian Army with the intention of enrolling in the Army.

And one question, these prospects often ask prior to taking this decision is how much does the Nigerian Army pay its officers and soldiers?

In this post, you’ll discover how much the Nigerian Army pays their staff. But before we proceed into the nitty-gritty of that, let’s take a look at what the Nigerian Army is all about.

nigerian army salaries per month

Nigerian Army salaries per month

Below is the full list of the Nigerian Army Ranks and their monthly pay package:

Private Soldier               N49, 000
Lance Corporal              N55, 000
Corporal                     N58, 000
Sergeant                     N63, 000
Staff Sergeant                N68, 000
Warrant Officer               N80, 000
Master Warrant Officer        N90, 000

Second Lieutenant            N120,000
Lieutenant                    N180,000
Captain                      N220,000
Major                        N300,000
Lieutenant Colonel            N350,000
Colonel                       N550,000
Brigadier General              N750,000
Major General                 N950,000
Lieutenant General             N1,000,000
General                       N1,500,000

More on the Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army is reputed to be the largest part of the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF). The NA is responsible for land warfare.The army is currnetly governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC).

The origin of the Nigerian Army can be traced to the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) which was formed in 1900.

In Africa, the Nigerian Army is said to be one the best fighting forces on the continent and presently the army has been involved in eradicating the dreaded Boko Haram.

Also, the organization has been involved in regional peacekeeping operations in the past. When the civil wars broke out in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the Nigerian Army sent troops to these regions to maintain order and protect the civilians.

Over the years, the Nigerian Army has produced key personalities in the country. One of such is Olusegun Obasanjo, a two-time president of the country. He was a very important figure during the Nigerian civil war and was involved in organizing the 3 Division by improving the logistics and administration of this command.

Muhammadu Buhari is another pivotal figure from the Nigerian Army. He is the current president of the country.

However, there have been complaints across the military ranks of the Army as a result of poor welfare and funding.

During the Civil War, General Olusegun Obasanjo claimed that the Nigerian Army fought the civil war with little or no resources and it was said that this inadequacy lasted the entire duration of the war.

Many other military veterans and political experts have reiterated that the government doesn’t spend adequately on the military. Between 2000 and 2008, the military budget was less than 3% of the overall government expenditure. However, the allocation seems to have increased in the last few years.

Due to the past problems in the military of low budget allocation and irregular disbursement of funds, there has been very little capital investment in the NA.

As a matter of fact, these problems have gone on to hinder the NA fight against the insurgency of the Boko Haram. Nonetheless, the current administration of President Buhari has been taking drastic steps to reverse this. There have been links between paucity of funds in the military and corruption among top military officers and the President has sanctioned the prosecution of these allegedly fraudulent officers.

Currently, the NA has over 6,000 officers and 96,000 soldiers. Although, there have been request to grow this number to 18,966 officers and at least 190,000 soldiers. As a matter of fact, it was recently announced that the army planned to recruit an additional 12, 000 personnels to boost its operations.

The training at the NA is supervised by the TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command).

Below is the current formation of the NA

  • 1st Division, headquartered in Kaduna
  • 2nd Division (HQ Ibadan)
  • 3rd Armoured Division HQ is Jos
  • 81st Division (Amphibious) HQ in Lagos
  • 82nd Division (Airborne and Amphibious) HQ in Enugu
  • 7th Infantry Division (JTF-RO) HQ in Maiduguri
  • 6 Division HQ Port Harcourt
  • 8 Division HQ Sokoto
  • TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) HQ Minna.

As mentioned earlier, one of the ways which the Nigerian Government has supported the African continent has been by deploying troops to these countries during times of war and unrest.

In October 2004, Nigerian Government deployed its troops into Darfur in Sudan in order to spearhead an African Union force and to protect civilians there. Also, in January 2013, Nigeria deployed troops to Mali as part of the African-led International Support Mission to Mali.

The African terrain is quite familiar with the Nigerian Army with some Nigerian officers serving as the chief of Defence in countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia. Brigadier General Maxwell Khobe served as the Sierra Leone Chief of Staff between 1998 and 1999.

The current head of the Nigerian Army also known as the Chief of Army staff is Lt-Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai. He has been in charge of the Nigerian Army since July 2015 when he was appointed by President Buhari. Prior to this, Buratai was the Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force.

The Nigerian Army is known to maintain a minimum of 82 different weapon systems and 194 types of ammunition with 62 different categories and from 14 manufacturers all around the world.

Now that we have some information on the Nigerian Army, let’s delve in to the crux of this post which is the monthly salary of the officers and soldiers in the NA.

Generally, Nigerian soldiers are paid according to rank/cadre. The highest paid rank is the General with a monthly salary of N1.5 million. The private soldier is the least rank with a salary of about N49000 per month.

If you’re a University graduate, you can earn up to N150000 per month as a second position lieutenant which is the graduate entry level position.

Wrapping up                            

Now that you know the monthly salary package of the soldiers and officers in the NA, you shouldn’t delay in applying. You can visit the official website of the NA and commence the application process.

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