The House of Representatives has moved to halt the Nigerian Army’s policy that merges pre-commission and post-commission years of service for SSCC, DSSC, and DRC officers, saying it leads to early retirement and affects manpower strength in the armed forces.
This followed a motion by Adamawa lawmaker Zakaria Nyampa, who urged a review of the practice where time spent as enlisted personnel, in training, or awaiting commissioning is added to an officer’s service record.
Nyampa argued that the arrangement goes against the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service 2017 (Revised), which states that an officer’s service is “a period of unbroken service in the Armed Forces of Nigeria from the date of commission to the date of retirement.”
He also maintained that the policy conflicts with fair labour principles and the doctrine of legitimate expectation under Sections 7 and 91 of the Labour Act.
According to him, “The policy has wider implications for military operations and personnel management.”
He further warned that, “The automatic merger policy is discriminatory, undermines morale and cohesion within the officer corps, accelerates the retirement of experienced personnel, creates manpower gaps, increases recruitment costs, erodes institutional memory, and deviates from international best practices.”
Following the debate, the House asked the Nigerian Army Council to discontinue the automatic merging of service years, allowing it only when an officer requests it in writing for pension-related purposes.
Lawmakers also urged the Armed Forces Council to “Harmonise service reckonability across the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force to ensure fairness, cohesion and uniformity in military service regulations.”
They further called on the Chief of Army Staff to introduce awareness campaigns and transition guidelines to prevent confusion around any new policy.
The House additionally recommended legal and administrative checks to avoid possible lawsuits linked to retroactive application of the rule.
It mandated its Committee on Army to investigate the matter and report back within four weeks, focusing on its impact on personnel welfare and career progression.