Posted by By Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan on
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Luka N. Yusuf, has told soldiers, point blank, that they should not expect any increase in their salaries, at least for now.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Luka N. Yusuf, has told soldiers, point blank, that they should not expect any increase in their salaries, at least for now.
Lieutenant-General Yusuf told soldiers in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday, that the Federal Government has given them more than enough salary adjustment.
The COAS, who was represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the second mechanised brigade, Major-General Abdulrahman Dambazau, made the statement at the end of the Nigeria Army Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs)convention entitled: 'Regimentation for Sustainable Democracy.'
He said since the government cannot open the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in order to pay soldiers higher wages, they should stop agitating for a new pay.
'What salary increase do you want? Do you want the government to open the CBN for your sake? The president has increased your salary and he even added 15 per cent,' the COAS said.
He added that: 'As soldiers, go to the armoury, pick your rifle and stand between Jaji and Kaduna Road and begin to rob. That is the only way to make quick money, if you like it. Some of you are not serious.'
General Dambazau recalled that when he joined the Army in 1977, his salary was N150, stressing that soldiers are better remunerated today, hence there was no way their salary could be increased right now.
Instead of agitating for a better pay, the GOC charged the soldiers to be patriotic to the cause of Nigeria. He urged them to be law-abiding citizens, stressing that the days of military dictatorship was gone for good.
He urged them to respect the constitution of Nigeria as well as the military laws guiding their profession. The GOC described military incursion into politics as a curse rather than a blessing to professionalism in the life of soldiers.