Military Salary Review: Ndume Lauds Tinubu, Demands First-Line Funding

A former Senate leader, Ali Ndume, has praised President Bola Tinubu for approving salary increases of between 30 and 80 per cent for about 250,000 personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Last week, Tinubu approved the upward salary review for various categories of military personnel, with the new rates expected to take effect from next month.

Under the new arrangement, the annual salary bill for Armed Forces personnel will rise from N660 billion to N924 billion.

Ndume, who served as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, said the pay rise would boost the morale and motivation of military personnel.

He said the salary increase, coming after the recent expansion of military divisions from eight to 12, indicated that the President had a strategy for tackling terrorism and banditry in the country.

He said the review would improve the welfare and motivation of officers and soldiers, noting that he had consistently advocated better conditions of service and decent living wages for military personnel.

“The review of salary will go a long way in motivating our military personnel. I have been in the vanguard of better motivation for our men and officers in the military in terms of decent living wage,” he said.

Ndume added that the salary increase demonstrated Tinubu’s responsiveness to legitimate concerns raised by Nigerians.

“President Tinubu has again proved that he is a responsive leader who doesn’t shut his mind to genuine and legitimate agitation of Nigerians,” he said.

The former Senate leader, however, said improved welfare alone would not be sufficient to enable the Armed Forces to effectively confront terrorism, insurgency and banditry.

He reiterated his call for the prompt provision of adequate arms, ammunition, logistics and modern technological equipment for the military.

“I have always argued that aside from welfare package, what they need to deal with insurgents, aside better welfare package and training, is prompt supply of arms and ammunition,” Ndume said.

He urged President Tinubu to sustain his commitment to providing the weapons and technological tools required by the Armed Forces to effectively discharge their duties.

“I also want to urge Mr. President to keep up his pledge on the provision of weapons and technological tools required to the Armed Forces to effectively discharge their duties,” he said.

Ndume also renewed his call for the military’s annual budget to be placed on First-Line Charge to ensure timely and direct funding of military operations.

According to him, the current envelope budgeting system exposes military funding to bureaucratic delays between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Finance, thereby affecting operations in the war theatre.

“All these can be achieved seamlessly, if we put their annual budget on First-Line Charge. This envelope budgeting is trapped in unnecessary bureaucracy between the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance. It is a big encumbrance to effective operations of our men and officers in the war theatre,” he said.

Ndume urged President Tinubu to take advantage of the current opportunity to establish a mechanism for direct statutory funding of the military from the Federation Account, similar to arrangements applicable to some government agencies.

“Mr. President should seize the initiative to ensure direct statutory transfer from the Federation Account for the military as it is done with few agencies of government,” he said.