BREAKING: Tinubu Approves ‘Generous Package’ for Retired Service Chiefs

President Bola Tinubu has approved a comprehensive and lavish retirement package for Nigerian service chiefs and retired generals, granting them a range of opulent benefits, including bullet-proof SUVs, medical treatment, and domestic aides.

The retirement entitlements are detailed in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTCOS) for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces, which the president signed on December 14, 2024.

According to a report by Punch, the newly approved package provides the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and other service chiefs with a bullet-proof SUV or an equivalent vehicle as a retirement benefit. This vehicle will be replaced every four years and maintained by the military. Each service chief will also receive a backup vehicle, such as a Peugeot 508.

Retiring generals will have access to various perks, including annual allowances of $20,000 for both international and local medical treatment, with the package for the CDS and other service chiefs expected to exceed this amount.

Additional benefits include domestic aides, residential guards, a personal assistant, three service drivers, a service orderly, and military escorts.

For top-ranking officers, such as lieutenant generals and their equivalents, the HTCOS specifies further enhancements, including two Toyota Hilux vehicles or one Toyota Land Cruiser, an annual medical allowance of $20,000, as well as two cooks, two stewards, four residential guards, and two drivers.

Major generals and brigadier generals are entitled to an annual medical allowance of $15,000, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and domestic staff. One-star officers will receive $10,000 annually for medical care and a Toyota Camry or its equivalent, along with similar domestic and security provisions.

In addition to these indulgences, the retirement package encompasses allowances for the retention of personal firearms (to be reclaimed upon the officer’s death), complimentary medical coverage both in Nigeria and abroad, and the provision of domestic aides, including service cooks, stewards, and a civilian gardener.