According to some Nigerian soldiers, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters owes N9.2 million ($5,700) in incentives to over 200 soldiers sent to Guinea-Bissau and Gambia for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission.
The soldiers were sent as part of the ECOWAS Stabilization Support Mission to help restore peace and security in West African countries.
According to sources, 177 soldiers were deployed to Guinea-Bissau and more than 100 to Gambia in June 2023. This mission is critical for regional stability, and it is concerning that the soldiers have not gotten their proper bonuses.
Senegal and Ghana joined Nigeria in deploying troops for the ECOWAS operation to restore stability in West Africa. Each soldier was entitled to a $950 monthly bonus from ECOWAS.
However, a soldier disclosed that, despite the mission’s completion in June 2024, they only received three months’ worth of incentives, leaving six months’ salary owed.
He stated that, despite Defence Headquarters’ promise to clear the loan during their leave, they had still to receive payment weeks after it ended.
“Only a few of us received an additional three months’ pay, with the remaining six months’ bonus. The reason the situation is so unpleasant for us is because the soldiers from Senegal and other nations have all earned their bonuses. However, only Nigerian troops have not got their bonuses.
“We believe ECOWAS has paid the Defence Headquarters but they have kept giving us excuses,” another soldier said according to the submission TBPA News received.
A part of the complaint reads, “We Nigerian soldiers went for a mission in Gambia and some of us went to Guinea Bissau for one year and we are back to Nigeria.
“Nigerian Army has not paid us our money within 12 months. It is only six months’ allowances that we received and even the six months, not all of us received it. We believe ECOWAS has released our money to the Nigerian Army.
“Since June when we came back till now, we’ve not been told anything so we don’t know their plan and if we should come out and complain or confront them, it will turn into another thing. Either they frustrate us or have bad plans for us.”
Delays in paying soldiers’ allowances and salaries are regrettably very uncommon in Nigeria. Recently it was in the news that the Nigerian Army confirmed that President Bola Tinubu’s government had delayed paying August salaries and allowances.
The army authorities sent a memo, imploring soldiers to be patient and assuring them that measures were being taken to ensure timely payment of their entitlements.
Some soldiers have complained about static pay scales and no salary increases for several years and the system from all indications isn’t looking like it will change.
As submitted by Kingsley Onah to TBPA News.
