Nigeria: the minimum salary for soldiers raised to 100,000 naira per month, which is 42,000 FCFA.

Nigerian soldiers now receive a monthly minimum salary of 100,000 naira, which is approximately 41,700 CFA francs at the current indicative rate. This information was confirmed by the Minister of Defense, Christopher Musa, during an interview with News Central, according to several Nigerian media outlets, including Punch, The Guardian Nigeria, and Vanguard.

According to the minister, this increase is part of a recent review of military welfare by the federal government. The minimum salary for soldiers thus rises from 49,000 to 100,000 naira per month. “A soldier used to earn 49,000 naira a month. […] now, he earns 100,000 naira,” said Christopher Musa, as quoted by Punch.

This increase represents just over double the previous salary level. It comes amid strong criticisms regarding the living conditions of Nigerian soldiers, engaged on several security fronts, particularly against armed groups, criminal gangs, and kidnapper networks.

An improvement, but a budget considered insufficient

Despite this increase, Christopher Musa believes that the available resources are still below the actual needs of the military. When questioned about the defense budget level, he replied: “It’s not enough,” according to comments reported by The Guardian Nigeria.

The minister acknowledged that improving salaries alone does not address the funding issue of the military apparatus. According to him, the armed forces still need additional resources to meet operational challenges and sustainably improve the working conditions of soldiers.

The statement also comes after a controversy related to military feeding conditions. Christopher Musa rejected accusations of poor care for soldiers, stating that some videos circulating on social media may have been staged. Vanguard reports that the minister particularly implicated activist Justice Crack, who was arrested after publishing videos highlighting the living conditions of soldiers.

Justice Crack has disputed these accusations. In a response reported by Punch, he denied having asked soldiers to remove meat or other items from their meals to create the impression that feeding conditions were poor. He claims he only wanted to draw attention to the welfare of security personnel.

The salary increase announced by the minister thus appears as a partial response to a broader malaise within the Nigerian military. It improves the base income of soldiers but does not end the debates about service conditions, equipment, feeding, and overall funding of the armed forces.

According to the indicative rate published by Xe, 1 naira is worth about 0.417 CFA francs. Based on this, the new minimum salary of 100,000 naira corresponds to approximately 41,700 CFA francs per month.