Nigeria soldiers lamented that the authorities have continued to deny them their full entitlements despite government approvals dating back to 2017.
Nigerian Soldiers revelations obtained by SaharaReporters have shown how they deployed to the North-East to combat Boko Haram terrorists are being paid only N20,000 monthly, out of the N100,000 Scarce Skills Allowance approved by the Federal Government.
Multiple soldiers lamented that the authorities have continued to deny them their full entitlements despite government approvals dating back to 2017.
Yes, the Federal Government approved the payment of N100,000 per soldier, but we’re collecting just N20,000 each,” one soldier revealed.
Just recently, the Nigerian Air Force increased theirs to N50,000, but the Army refused to do that.
Our Scarce Skills Allowance, which is supposed to be N100,000 per month, is N20,000.
This started under former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.).
The Scarce Skills Allowance (SSA) was part of several welfare packages approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2017 under the Manual of Financial Administration for the Armed Forces of Nigeria (MAFA).
The MAFA, obtained by SaharaReporters in 2021, clearly stipulates a payment of N100,000 for all military personnel, regardless of rank.
However, the soldiers are still being paid between N20,000 and N30,000, a clear violation of the official provisions.
This latest revelation echoes a 2021 report by SaharaReporters, in which aggrieved soldiers accused the then-Army leadership under Buratai of diverting their allowances.
At the time, soldiers lamented that their Uniform and Boot Allowance and the Scarce Skills Allowance approved since 2017 had either not been paid or were grossly underpaid.
One of the soldiers who spoke in 2021 said,
Our scarce skills allowance is supposed to be N100,000 as approved by the President in 2017 but the army authorities commenced its payment only in 2020 and paid Private to Corporal N20,000.
Sergeant and Staff Sergeant N25,000, Warrant Officer and Master Warrant Officer N30,000.
There is non-payment of our uniform and boot allowances.
We are calling on the President to invite the EFCC and ICPC to investigate why the money was not paid since 2017 and why we are currently being short-paid. Another soldier added,
The Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Army should probe the Army High Command on the salary and allowances.
They should hold interactive sessions with troops, excluding the officers, to have first-hand information about the suffering of soldiers and their families.
Despite these repeated outcries, the Nigerian Army has not addressed the issue, and soldiers say the practice has persisted to date.
Troops have expressed anger that, while they are deployed to dangerous fronts, risking their lives daily, senior officers are allegedly diverting their allowances in collusion with the Army’s finance departments.
In 2021, SaharaReporters also exposed how soldiers were forced into a controversial Nigerian Army Welfare Housing Scheme, where deductions of up to N49,000 were made from their meagre salaries without consultation.
Many described the scheme as another channel of exploitation, noting that they already struggled to feed their families and pay school fees.
The aggrieved soldiers told SaharaReporters that unless the government intervenes decisively.
The situation will continue to affect morale among the rank and file, thereby weakening the fight against terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.
