THE immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Faruk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao, who were retired by President Bola Tinubu on Monday, June 19, 2023, are to get bulletproof Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), personal aides, guards and other perks of office, including allowances for medical treatment abroad as retirement benefits.
A news report has disclosed that Section 11.8 of the HTACOS 2017, a revised version of the HTACOS 2012 of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria 2017 (revised) listed the benefits of the retired Generals upon leaving the respective services to include one bulletproof SUV or equivalent vehicle to be maintained by the service and to be replaced every four years; Peugeot 508 or equivalent backup vehicle and five domestic aides, made up of two service cooks, two stewards and a civilian gardener.
Also, each of them is also entitled to an Aide-de-Camp (ADC)/security officer; special assistant of a lieutenant/captain or equivalent or personal assistant of the rank of warrant officer or equivalent and nine standard guards of nine soldiers.
In addition, the past CDS and service chiefs are also entitled to three service drivers; one service orderly; escorts to be provided by the appropriate military units/formations as the need arises and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad, as well as retain all military uniforms and accoutrements to be worn for appropriate ceremonies and as personal firearms. But such firearms shall be retrieved by the relevant services upon the death of the beneficiaries.
Section 11.19 of the HTACOS 2017 also listed the retirement benefits of a Lt-General for the Nigerian Army, Navy Vice Admiral for the Navy and Air Force Air Marshal to include two Peugeot 508 cars or one Toyota Land Cruiser, two cooks, two stewards, four residential guards, one service orderly, two service drivers, free medical treatment in the country and abroad to the tune of $20,000 yearly.
The retirement benefits for a Maj-General in the Army, Rear Admiral in the Navy and Air Vice Marshal in Air Force, who are two-star officers, include one Peugeot 508, a cook, a steward, two residential guards, one service orderly, one service driver, free medicals in Nigeria and abroad to the tune of $15,000 per year.
One-star officers, or Brig-Generals in the Army, Commodore in the Navy and Air Commodore in the Air Force, upon retirement, are entitled to one Peugeot 408, a service driver, two residential guards, one service orderly and free medicals locally and abroad to the tune of $10,000 each.
For Colonels, Captains and Group Captains in the Army, Navy and Air Force, respectively, each of them is expected to go with a Peugeot 301 or another car of the same value and free medical cover in the country.
The HTACOS, however, provided that for Maj-Generals, Brig-Generals, Colonels and their equivalents in the Navy and the Air Force, all the benefits could be monetised for the retiring officers.
In comparison, the 2012 version of the HTACOS made provisions for one security car to be maintained by the respective service and replaced every four years; retention of all military uniforms and accoutrements to be worn for appropriate ceremonies; personal firearms, which shall be retrieved by the relevant services upon the death of the beneficiaries; three domestic civilian aides (cook, gardener and steward) or cash in lieu; ADC/security officer; six standard guards; one service driver and one service orderly for retiring Generals, CDS and service chiefs in Section 09.17.
The HTACOS was reviewed in 2022 in accordance with the five-year review period, but it was not signed due to rumblings that the senior Generals were taking good care of themselves at the expense of the rank and file.
It was gathered that to become operative, the HTACOS would be signed by the CDS, with the permission of the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The current HTACOS in use specifies that the CDS and service chiefs must be four-star Generals and can hold the positions for a continuous period of two years and that the Commander-in-Chief can extend such appointments for another period of two years from the date of the expiration of the initial two-year period.
However, Section 11.09 leaves the tenure of the CDS and service chiefs open and at the discretion of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, stating: “The foregoing notwithstanding, the President, C-in-C, reserves the prerogative to extend the tenure of a CDS/service chief, irrespective of his age or length of service.”
Former President Muhammadu Buhari relied on this provision to retain the services of former CDS, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who were appointed in 2015, but were not replaced until January 2021, despite calls for their sack because of rising insecurity in the country.
