‘Soldiers Started With ₦49,000 Monthly Salary, Now It Is ₦100,000’ – Defence Minister

The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has revealed that the Federal Government has significantly improved soldiers’ salaries.

Naia News reports that Musa made this known during an interview on News Central on Wednesday, ahead of the programme’s broadcast on Friday.

The former Chief of Defence Staff said Nigerian soldiers were initially earning ₦49,000 monthly but now earn a minimum monthly salary of ₦ 100,000 following a recent Federal Government review of their welfare.

According to Musa, the military remained underfunded despite the improvement in personnel welfare.

He said, “When they started, a soldier was collecting N49,000 monthly. We tried so hard, now he’s collecting N100,000.”

Responding to a question on whether the current defence budget was adequate, the minister replied, “It’s not enough.”

Musa also dismissed allegations of poor feeding in the military, insisting that claims circulating in the public space were misleading.

Referring to an incident involving a dismissed military officer identified as Justice Crack, Musa claimed that the officer deliberately created a false impression about the quality of meals served to soldiers.

He added, “The soldier’s food was okay. There was meat; there was all this. But he told them to pull out those things and make it look as if those things were not there.”