Nigerian Navy ranks and salary is an essential component of the structure that guides the operations of the Nigerian Navy.
This article intends to provide factual, accurate and timely information on the Nigerian Navy ranks and salary structure so that readers can understand how various officers ranks in the Nigerian Navy are paid monthly.
For those interested in joining the Nigerian Navy, it’s important that you understand the Nigerian Navy ranks and salary for a efficient naval career.
Overview of the Nigerian Navy
The Nigerian Navy is understood to be the largest in terms of manpower, as well as possessing technical superiority in the whole of West Africa and to a larger extent, the sub-saharan Africa with the exception of South Africa.
The Nigerian Navy alongside it’s maritime sister organisation – NIMASA as well as several international allies are the primary Force protecting the Gulf of Guinea from maritime criminal activities such as piracy, kidnapping, oil thefts, marine ecological protection, subsurface warfare, espionage, and territorial violation.
Brief history of the Nigerian Navy
The Nigerian Navy started it’s life as the now defunct Nigerian Marine in 1914, which later transitioned to the Nigerian Naval Force.
This force was at that time trained by the Royal Navy officers, and staffed by former Nigerian Marine personnel. In November 1957, HNMS Quorra was formed to train the newly recruited naval personnel, sixty junior ratings were subsequently trained for naval operations.
Two years later; in mid-1959, the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II allowed Nigeria to use the title ‘Royal Nigerian Navy’, this the Nigerian Navy was formed. The name was later changed officially to the Nigerian Navy in 1963 immediately after Nigeria became a Republic.
Since then, the Nigerian Navy have grown in both numbers, sophistication, and technical proficiency to meet with today’s maritime challenges.
Nigerian Navy Command structure
As with other branches if the Nigerian military, the Nigerian Navy’s operations is guided by its command structure. This is essential in establishing a command and control which in turn guides the hierarchy.
The Chief of Naval Staff is Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas , who was appointed on July 13, 2015, he is the most senior commissioned officer in the Nigerian Navy.
The Nigerian Navy Headquarters is currently structured into 9 Branches, 5 commands and several autonomous units. The 5 commands are:
- Western Naval Command located at Soaps, Lagos state.
- Central Naval Command located at Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
- Eastern Naval Command located at Calabar.
- Training located at Apapa, Lagos state.
- Logistics Commands located at Oghara.
Working alongside the five Nigerian Navy commands are seven staff branches in addition to the Office of the Navy Secretary. The branches are:
- Policy and Plans.
- Training and Operations
- Administration.
- Naval Engineering
- Logistics
- Accounts and Budget.
- Safety and Standards.
Nigerian Navy roles
The first duties of the newly formed Nigerian Navy were simply an elaborate coast guard duties, which are;
- Assisting in the enforcement of customs laws
- Making hydrographic surveys
- Training naval officers
However with time the roles were greatly expanded in 1993, to reflect a true naval force duties and enshrined in the Armed Forces Act which was later incorporated as part of the 1999 Constitution.
Thus, the current duties of the Nigerian Navy can be summed up into;
- Territorial defense in the maritime domain from foreign and domestic threats.
- Protection of Nigeria’s Economic Exclusive Zone.
- Protecting merchants, biological activities, and oil and gas installations.
- Projecting Nigeria’s prestige and hard power.
Nigerian Navy ranks and salary
Nigerian Navy ranks
The Nigerian Navy ranks is divided into two distinct cadre, these are;
- Commissioned Officers
- Non-commissioned Officers
Commissioned Officers
Commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy are those who enlisted through the Nigerian Defense Academy or the Direct Short Service Commission. They are usually university graduates with a degree in any recognized course. Also, their salaries are quite higher than those of the Non-commissioned cadre. They are more involved in decision-making and leadership in the Nigeria Navy. There are eleven ranks levels for the commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy.
The commissioned officers for the Nigerian Navy are listed below;
- Admiral of the Fleet
- Admiral
- Vice-Admiral
- Rear Admiral Commodore
- Captain
- Commander
- Lieutenant Commander
- Lieutenant
- Sub-Lieutenant
- Acting Sub-Lieutenant
- Mid-Shipman
Non-commissioned Officers
The Non-commissioned officers are those who enlisted through the general recruitment process, they are sometimes called the “ranks and file” of the naval force. There are seven ranks of the non-commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy, they are listed below;
- Warrant Chief Petty Officer
- Chief Petty Officer
- Petty Officer
- Leading Rating
- Able Rating
- Ordinary Rating
- Trainee
Nigerian Navy salary for each ranks
Nigerian Navy salary structure is based on the ranks and educational qualification of the officers. The higher the rank, the more the salary.
Officers are also paid some extra stipends such as Hazard allowance if they are deployed on a combat or peacekeeping mission.
Salaries of commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy;
- Admiral of the Fleet
- Admiral monthly salary is N1,358,595
- Vice Admiral monthly salary is N1,113,602
- Rear Admiral monthly salary is N1,003,245
- Commodore monthly salary is N615,488
- Captain monthly salary is N309,654
- Commander monthly salary is N281,673
- Lieutenant Commander monthly salary is N230,652
- Lieutenant monthly salary is N195,685
- Sub-Lieutenant monthly salary is N150,625
- Acting Sub-Lieutenant monthly salary is N130,852
- Mid-Shipman monthly salary is N118,835
Salaries for Non-commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy
- Warrant Chief Petty Officer monthly salary is N120,853
- Chief Petty Officer monthly salary is N90,825
- Petty Officer monthly salary is N80,.852
- Leading Rating monthly salary is N70,855
- Able Rating monthly salary is N50, 855
- Ordinary Rating monthly salary is N45,854
- Trainee monthly salary is N0.00
Navy officers also enjoy other benefits aside from the monthly salaries, such as travel, job security, career growth, and free healthcare.