Former Senate leader, Ali Ndume, has urged the newly appointed service chiefs to prioritise better pay and welfare for military personnel to boost their morale and effectiveness.
Ndume made this appeal in a statement on Thursday, following the decoration of the new service chiefs by President Bola Tinubu.
He said improving soldiers’ remuneration would greatly enhance their motivation in combating insurgency, banditry, and other security challenges facing the country.
The Senate had earlier confirmed Olufemi Oluyede as Chief of Defence Staff, Waidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff, and Kelvin Aneke as Chief of Air Staff.
Ndume, who represents Borno South and formerly chaired the Senate Committee on Army, emphasised that the motivation of troops is a critical pillar of military strength.
“I have identified four pillars that would make our military formidable at all times and keep security threats at abeyance,” he said. “This is what I have tagged as TEAM. The first is training, second is equipment, ammunitions, and motivations — in that order.”
The lawmaker further advised the federal government to make defence funding a first-line charge in the national budget to ensure consistent and adequate financing for military operations.
“The annual budget of the armed forces and other security forces should be in the first-line charge and it shouldn’t be discretionary. They should be front-loaded,” he said.
Ndume lamented that Nigerian soldiers’ salaries remain poor compared to those of their counterparts in other African countries.
“In Ghana, the entry-level pay for a private soldier is equivalent to about ₦180,000 per month; in South Africa, the basic pay for enlisted personnel starts at about ₦250,000 monthly,” he said.
“In Egypt, junior enlisted officers earn the equivalent of ₦230,000–₦280,000 monthly; and in Kenya, a private earns about ₦200,000, excluding operational allowances.
“In Nigeria, the average private soldier earns significantly less despite higher deployment frequency and operational demands.”
He warned that the current pay structure, eroded by inflation and rising living costs, could dampen troop morale, discourage recruitment, and weaken operational efficiency.