Nigerian Navy ranks, symbols and salary structure 2019

Before Nigeria gained Independence, what is known as today’s Nigerian Navy was originally conceived as a quasi-military organization. Since then, the Nigerian Navy has gone through so many changes, including becoming an arm of the Nigerian Armed forces.

Like any military organization across the globe, there is an absolute need to establish a clear chain of command. The chain of command is usually in the form of an organisational level; each level achieved through years of service and dedication to work.

Perhaps, the most important driving force of military effectiveness is the clear channel of communication. This channel is established through the hierarchical chain of authority in the form of ranks. Being a former British colony and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Nigerian Navy shares a similar rank structure to that of the United Kingdom.

Ranks in the Nigerian Navy 2020

nigerian-navy-ranks
Credit: Wikipedia

Just like the UK, Nigerian Naval officers are divided into commissioned and non-commissioned officers. Being either a commissioned or non-commissioned officer greatly determines the rank, authority, duties, and salary structure of a Nigerian Navy personnel.

Commissioned officers

The Commissioned officers are high ranking officers who are in a position of authority. They usually give out orders and assign missions to the non-commissioned officers. Commissioned officers are usually high ranked, earn more, and have more legal authority than non-commissioned officers. They are in most cases, more educated than non-commissioned officers and may have a university degree or its equivalent. Commissioned officers are officially classified into 11 ranks:

  1. Admiral of the Fleet
  2. Admiral
  3. Vice-Admiral
  4. Rear Admiral
  5. Commodore
  6. Captain
  7. Commander
  8. Lieutenant Commander
  9. Lieutenant
  10. Sub-Lieutenant
  11. Midshipman

Admiral of the Fleet

This is the highest rank in the Nigerian Navy. Climbing through the rigorous standards of the Navy to earn this rank would mean you are the crème de la crème; the best of your stock. Very few, if any, in the Nigerian Navy have ever gotten to this rank. It is often only awarded as an honorary position. It is equivalent to the rank of a Field Marshal in the Nigerian Army or a Marshal in the Air Force. There’s currently no information on the salary structure of this rank in public domain.

Admiral

This is the highest attainable rank in the Nigerian Navy. It is nonetheless structured as the second highest in official setting. There are no recent records of any Nigerian naval officer promoted to this rank. It is equivalent to the rank of General in the Nigerian Army and that of Air Chief Marshal in the Nigeria Air Force. An Admiral currently earns ₦1,358,595 monthly with a yearly salary of ₦16,303,140.

Vice-Admiral

This is officially the third highest rank in the Nigerian Navy. No Chief of Naval Staff in Nigeria have ever gotten past this rank. It is the equivalent of a Lieutenant General in the Nigerian Army, and an Air Marshal in the Nigerian Air Force. A Vice-Admiral currently takes home a monthly salary of ₦1,113,602 fixed at ₦13,363,229 yearly.

Rear Admiral

This is the fourth highest rank in the Nigerian Navy. It is just below the rank of a Vice-Admiral, but immediately above a Commodore. A handful of Chief of Naval Staff have been appointed from this rank. This rank is equivalent to a Major General in the Nigerian Army, and an Air Vice-Marshal in the Air Force. A Rear Admiral is the lowest ranking officer of the four “Admiral Ranks”. Officers of this rank earn about ₦12,038,945 annually with a monthly salary of ₦1,003,245.
Commodore

The Commodore rank is the highest Non-Admiral rank in the Nigerian Navy, and the fifth in official setting. It is just above the rank of a Captain. Though fifth in the naval chain of command, a Commodore is usually a respected officer and is considered to be a high ranked officer. A Commodore takes home around ₦7,385,856 annually with a monthly basic salary of ₦615,488. This rank is equivalent to that of a Brigadier General in the Nigerian Army, and an Air Commodore in the Air Force.

Captain

The Captain rank is one of the highly coveted ranks among lower ranked naval officers. They are historically at the helm of affairs on warships and are the chief decision makers in most cases. A captain in the Nigerian Navy takes home around ₦3,715,859 annually at a ₦309,655 monthly basic salary. The rank is equivalent to that of a Colonel in the Nigerian Army, and a Group Captain in the Air Force.

Commander

The Commander rank is just below the rank of a Captain. It is the 7th highest in the organizational structure and 5th lowest among the commissioned officers. The basic annual salary of a Nigerian Navy Commander is ₦3,380,086 with a monthly basic salary of ₦281,674. The Navy Commander rank is equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army, and a Wing Commander in the Air Force.
Lieutenant Commander

A lieutenant simply means an assistant or deputy. This makes a Lieutenant Commander an assistant commander. This rank is directly below the rank of a Commander. It is the 8th highest in organizational structure, and 4th lowest among the commissioned ranks. This rank is equivalent to a Major in the Nigerian Army and a Squadron Leader in the Nigerian Air Force. No official salary structure exists in public domain for this rank.

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is the direct subordinate of a Lieutenant Commander in the Nigerian Navy. They are quite low in the decision-making chain and are among the heavy lifters. This rank is equivalent to the rank of a Captain in the Nigerian Army and a Flight Lieutenant in the Nigerian Air Force. There is no official published salary structure for this rank.

Sub-Lieutenant

This rank is above the rank of a Midshipman but below a Lieutenant. It is equivalent to the rank of a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army, and a Flying Officer in the Air Force. There is no official published salary structure for this rank.

Midshipman

The Midshipman is the lowest rank among commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy. It is equivalent to the Second Lieutenant rank in the Nigerian Arrmy and the rank of a Pilot Officer in the Air force. There is no official published salary structure for this rank.

The listed salary structure is modeled by using the monthly basic salary, excluding any bonuses or deployment allowances that may be accrued by the ranks.

Though the lowest possible monthly salary for each rank is fixed, there are still officially sanctioned variations. Under Nigerian Navy remuneration policies, there may be discrepancies in salary structure due to the assigned duties of a ranked officer. For example, a Lieutenant Commander serving as a naval doctor may earn higher than the same ranked officer performing other duties.
Non-commissioned Officers
Non-commissioned officers are the backbone of the Navy. They form the core of the actual fighting force and are responsible for carrying out missions. The non-commissioned officers rise through the ranks by merit and experience in the battlefield. However, they usually possess lower ranks, earn less, and have less legal authority.

The salary structure for non-commissioned officers in the Nigerian Navy is very fluid. There is also no official information available to the public regarding the monthly basic salary of officers in this group.

The Nigerian Navy ranks for non-commissioned officers as listed on Wikipedia are:

Navy Warrant Officer
Master Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
Petty Officer
Leading Seaman
Able Seaman
Seaman
Ordinary Seaman