Senator Ali Ndume, the Senate Majority Chief Whip, expressed concern over the inadequate remuneration for security agencies, highlighting that recruits receive monthly payments of less than N50,000.
As the former Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army, Ndume speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today called on the Federal Government to promptly reassess the stipends and salaries provided to the country’s military personnel.
He 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?” he queried on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“How can you pay a Nigerian Army, for example, an allowance of N1,200 as his daily money and pay him N2000 only as Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) and put him in the theatre? Some from Lagos, Oyo, and Ondo moved to Maiduguri.
“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.”
Advocating for an immediate raise in salaries for security agencies, Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, emphasized that the last salary increment for these personnel occurred in 2008.
In addition to urging the government to enhance their remuneration, Ndume called for the recruitment of more security operatives, particularly to address the manpower deficit in both the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Army.
Furthermore, apart from salary adjustments and increased recruitment, Ndume appealed to the administration of President Bola Tinubu to ensure the acquisition of adequate equipment for the military. This, he believes, would effectively address the nation’s security threats and boost the morale of the armed forces.
“What the President must do is to review the salaries of the Nigerian armed forces because it was last reviewed in 2008, we are in 2023.
“We should review the salary of all the security agencies, we should increase the number of security agencies, especially police and the Nigerian Army. We should equip them adequately and we should motivate them,” he added.