Yemi Obafemi
The Senate Majority Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, on Tuesday has emphasised the urgent need for the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reassess the salaries of the Nigerian Armed Forces, considering that the last review took place in 2008.
Reacting to a video trending online in which a Nigerian soldier, expressed his frustration at being unable to visit his family after spending a year in the bush in Borno State due to high cost of transport fare that he claimed is higher than his salary.
The Nigerian soilder who stationed in Maiduguri, Borno State, revealed in the video that the cost of transportation to his hometown is N35,000, which amounts to N70,000 for a round trip, while he earns a monthly salary of N50,000.
Speaking in Pidgin-English, the soldier can be heard saying, “See wahala oo, the Nigerian Army gave me a pass to go and see my family as I spent one year in Maiduguri.
“As I left the bush, I reached the park and they told me that from here to my town is N35,000. I calculated it and going and coming back is N70,000 and my salary that I was paid this month was N50,000.
“I don’t have any option again, I’m going back to the bush.”
Senator Ali Ndume, on Tuesday has emphasised the urgent need for the President to reassess the salaries of the Nigerian Armed Forces, considering that the last review took place in 2008.
Senator Ali Ndume also expressed concern about the inadequate pay for security agencies, highlighting that recruits receive less than N50,000 per month.
Ali Ndume said, “The recruits are paid less than N50,000 in some cases. How can you pay somebody money that cannot buy him a bag of rice and you expect him to go and sacrifice and put in his best?”
“How can you pay a Nigerian soldier, for example, an allowance of N1,200 as his daily money and pay him N2,000 only as Duty Tour Allowance and put him in the theatre? Some from Lagos, Oyo, and Ondo moved to Maiduguri,” he asked on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Their parents are expecting that they will send them something monthly and you pay the guy N50,000 or less. These are the major challenges that the government must rise to. Right now we don’t have enough security agencies or personnel to handle the security challenges.”
He recommended that a thorough evaluation of the salaries of various security agencies be conducted, with a particular focus on enhancing the number of security agencies, especially the police and the Nigerian Army.
Ndume added that it is crucial to ensure that they are properly equipped and motivated.
Last year, the retiring Controller of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Ogun State Command, AbdulRashed Alimi, expressed his concern over the inadequate salary package provided to the officers of the agency.
He stated that workers’ salaries fail to adequately account for the risks associated with their jobs, considering the challenging economic conditions in the country.
