According to the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces signed by President Bola Tinubu on December 14, 2024, the Chief of Defence Staff and other service chiefs are entitled to a bulletproof SUV or its equivalent as a retirement package.
The vehicle would be replaced every four years and maintained by the military. This is in addition to a Peugeot 508 or an equivalent vehicle as backup.
The retired generals will also enjoy a range of other luxurious benefits, including domestic aides and residential guards upon retirement.
While those who retire as lieutenant generals and their equivalents will enjoy international and local medical treatment worth up to $20,000 annually, the benefits for the CDS and the service chiefs were not specified, but it is believed that theirs would be significantly higher.
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In addition, they will be assigned a special assistant or personal assistant, three service drivers, and a service orderly, with escorts provided as necessary by relevant military units.
Also, each retiring service chief will also be provided with five domestic aides, comprising two service cooks, two stewards, and one civilian gardener, along with an aide-de-camp or security officer.
Other senior officers such as lieutenant generals and equivalents are entitled to two Toyota Hilux vehicles or one Toyota Land Cruiser, along with $20,000 annual medical treatment, two cooks, two stewards, four residential guards and two drivers.
The Federal Government also approved for major generals and brigadier generals a Toyota Land Cruiser or equivalent, $15,000 annual medical treatment, domestic staff, and residential guards.
One-star officers are expected to receive $10,000 annually for medical care, a Toyota Camry or equivalent and similar domestic and security arrangements.
Colonels and their equivalents are to get a Toyota Corolla or its equivalent and free medical care within Nigeria.
The President of the NMA, Bala Audu, emphasised that any retirement benefits received by government officials should be invested within Nigeria.
Speaking on the upgraded perks for the military brass, the NMA president noted that if they want to give them government-benefited medical treatment, cooks, or whatever, they should give them all their benefits in Nigeria.
The President of MDCAN, Muhammad Muhammad, demanded that the Nigerian healthcare system should be transformed to cater to Nigerians’ healthcare needs.
He added that the decision to make provision for foreign treatment for the retired officers signalled a lack of confidence in the local health sector.
While acknowledging that the retirement package for service chiefs, judges, and politicians is not new, the medical expert insisted that the well-being of Nigerians and healthcare professionals should also be prioritised.
He further recommended that they increase budgetary provisions to upgrade hospitals and other healthcare institutions and training centres so that Nigerians who may not necessarily have to go out of the country will be able to get the requisite healthcare service that they require.
On his part, NARD president, Tope Osundara, noted that medical tourism is the bane of the health sector, stressing the need to address it urgently.
The Country Director, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Friday Odeh, described the development as alarming, noting the hardship faced by Nigerians, adding that the extravagant retirement benefits raised concerns about the priorities of the government.
He also questioned whether the service chiefs had done enough to deserve the packages while calling on the citizens to challenge such policies.
Odeh queried the wisdom behind the retirement perks citing the inability of the armed forces to address the insecurity plaguing the country.
The Executive Director of the Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre, Okechukwu Nwaguma, pointed out that the retirement benefits reflected a troubling disconnect between government actions and the realities faced by citizens, adding that the justification for such perks was questionable.
He noted, the Nigerian government’s decision to grant excessive retirement perks to military leaders amid the current economic hardship reflects a troubling disconnect between government actions and the realities faced by citizens.
Nwaguma said the decision may reinforce the perception that the Tinubu government favoured elite interests, fostering public alienation.