President Bola Tinubu has approved salary increases of between 30% and 80% for about 250,000 members of Nigeria’s armed forces, lifting the country’s annual military wage bill to ₦924 billion ($679 million) as Abuja steps up efforts to improve troop welfare and confront persistent security threats.
The new salary structure, which takes effect on 1 September, will see junior enlisted personnel, from privates to staff sergeants, receive the highest increase of 80%.
Warrant officers through colonels will receive a 50% increase, while senior officers, including generals, will receive a 30% raise.
According to the presidency, the adjustment raises the military’s annual salary bill from ₦660 billion ($485 million) to ₦924 billion ($679 million), marking one of the most significant pay reviews for Nigerian troops in recent years.
The announcement comes as Nigeria continues to battle multiple security challenges, including a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed banditry in the northwest, widespread kidnapping-for-ransom across several states, separatist violence in parts of the southeast and oil theft in the Niger Delta.
