President Tinubu approved a salary increase for the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force on 4 August 2026, effective 1 September 2026: 80% more for Private up to Staff Sergeant, 50% for Warrant Officer up to Colonel, and 30% for ranks above Colonel. It covers about 250,000 armed forces personnel and raises the military wage bill from ₦660 billion to ₦924 billion a year. What government has not released is a rank-by-rank naira table — and this page explains what that means for the figures you see online.
What was officially announced
| Rank band | Increase |
|---|---|
| Private – Staff Sergeant (and Navy/Air Force equivalents) | +80% |
| Warrant Officer – Colonel (and equivalents) | +50% |
| Above Colonel (Brigadier General – General) | +30% |
Source: the State House statement of 4 August 2026. The rise applies to the three armed services only. Police and paramilitary agencies (Customs, Immigration, Civil Defence, FRSC) are not covered — their last adjustment was the 25–35% consequential increase that followed the 2024 minimum wage law. For the police structure, see our Nigerian Police salary per rank guide.
How military pay is structured (CONAFSS)
Armed forces basic pay sits on the Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS). Unlike the university or health structures, the government’s salary commission (NSIWC) does not publish the CONAFSS table publicly — which is why no blog quoting exact figures can point to an official document.
Basic pay is also only part of a soldier’s package. The Armed Forces financial manual adds allowances on top: rent subsidy, utility, uniform maintenance, hazard, transport, meal subsidy, leave grant and operational allowances for special duties (diving, counter-terrorism deployments and similar). Accommodation matters too — personnel not housed in barracks get a lodging allowance tied to their CONAFSS pay.
Rank equivalents across the three services
| Army | Navy | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Ordinary Seaman | Aircraftman/woman |
| Lance Corporal | Able Seaman | Lance Corporal |
| Corporal | Leading Seaman | Corporal |
| Sergeant | Petty Officer | Sergeant |
| Staff Sergeant | Chief Petty Officer | Flight Sergeant |
| Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer |
| Second Lieutenant | Midshipman | Pilot Officer |
| Lieutenant | Sub-Lieutenant | Flying Officer |
| Captain | Lieutenant | Flight Lieutenant |
| Major | Lieutenant Commander | Squadron Leader |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Wing Commander |
| Colonel | Captain (Navy) | Group Captain |
| Brigadier General | Commodore | Air Commodore |
| Major General | Rear Admiral | Air Vice Marshal |
| Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | Air Marshal |
| General | Admiral | Air Chief Marshal |
About the “₦187,200 to ₦3.25m” figures circulating online
Most sites now list exact new salaries per rank — Private ₦187,200, Captain ₦480,000, General ₦3.25 million. Those numbers all trace to one newspaper analysis (Daily Trust, 10 August 2026) that applied the announced percentages to base figures taken from an unofficial salary blog, not from a government document. Treat them as estimates, for two reasons:
- The base list contradicts itself — it puts a Warrant Officer’s new pay below a Staff Sergeant’s, which cannot be right since WO is the senior rank.
- The Defence Minister said in July 2026 that the entry-level soldier’s minimum had already moved to about ₦100,000 — which does not match the ₦104,000 “old” Private base those lists start from.
Until NSIWC or the Ministry of Defence publishes the new CONAFSS table, the only official numbers are the three percentage bands above. When that table appears, we will publish it here.
What this means if you’re joining
The 80% band deliberately targets the junior ranks — recruits and NCOs gain the most. If you’re applying, start with our Air Force recruitment guide or the Army recruitment exam centres list. Allowances, accommodation and feeding arrangements differ by posting, so the take-home of two soldiers on the same rank can differ.
Sources
- State House: “President Tinubu approves salary increases for Armed Forces personnel” (4 August 2026)
- Nairametrics, Tribune, Guardian coverage of the approval (4 August 2026)
- Daily Trust rank-by-rank analysis (10 August 2026) — the estimate discussed above
- NSIWC circulars page (no public CONAFSS table as of August 2026)
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