News Editor
By our correspondent, Kunle Agbola
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved a medical retirement allowance of $20,000, SUVs bulletproof and cooks, among other benefits, for service chiefs and generals.
The package is contained in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) signed by President Bola Tinubu.
The approval was announced on December 16, 2024 on social media by the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
In line with the package, the vehicles will be replaced every four years and maintained by the military. They will also receive a Peugeot 508, or a similar backup vehicle.
Upon retirement, the generals will enjoy additional luxurious benefits, including domestic aides and residential guards. Retired lieutenant generals and their equivalents will also enjoy international and local medical treatment worth up to $20,000 annually as reported by Punch.
Besides, each retiring service chief will get five domestic aides, including two cooks, two stewards, and a civilian gardener, plus an aide-de-camp or security officer.
The HTCOS also includes the retention of all military uniforms and accoutrements to be worn for appropriate ceremonies.
Retiring generals will also have one aide-de-camp or security officer, one special assistant, who will be lieutenant, captain or equivalent or one personal assistant, who would be a warrant officer or equivalent.
They will each have a special assistant, three service drivers, and a service orderly, with escorts provided as needed.
They would also be allowed to retain their personal firearms, although these would be retrieved by the relevant service upon their demise
Cruiser or equivalent vehicle, $15,000 for annual medical treatment, domestic staff, and residential guards.
Meanwhile, one-star officers will receive $10,000 annually for medical care, a Toyota Camry or equivalent vehicle, and have similar domestic and security arrangements.
Colonels and their equivalents would receive a Toyota Corolla or its equivalent, and free medical care within Nigeria.
Benefits for serving chief of defence staff and service chiefs are not specified, but it’s most likely they will receive significantly more.
However, this package has been criticised by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
According to Punch, the NMA president, Bala Audu, said retirement benefits given to government officials should be invested in Nigeria.
He said they should receive their medical treatment in Nigeria.
