Driver jobs in Nigeria: pay up to ₦400,000, licence and how to get hired

On Jobberman’s first results page for “driver”, 9 of 12 ads with a driver’s pay band showed ₦70,000–₦150,000 and 3 showed ₦150,000–₦250,000. For “truck driver”, 10 ads showed ₦70,000–₦150,000, 4 showed ₦150,000–₦250,000 and 2 showed ₦250,000–₦400,000. One of those was a Canter truck driver role in Lagos asking for OND and 3 years of commercial truck driving.

Nigerian driver’s licences are issued in classes for different vehicles, and trucks need a higher class than a car. Employers ask for a “valid driver’s licence” in almost every ad, and truck roles check the class. Apply or renew through the FRSC, and never pay a tout for a licence you have not been tested for.

Ads ask for a clean record, knowledge of local routes and, for trucks, around three years of commercial driving. SSCE or OND is the usual school level. An executive chauffeur ad we read asked for a degree and three years and paid ₦180,000–₦200,000 in the ad text.

Company and staff drivers move people and documents in town. Van sales drivers deliver and sell to shops, often with a bonus. Truck drivers carry goods between cities or depots and are paid the most. Logistics firms often hire several drivers at once when they win a contract.

Expect early mornings and waiting time, and overnight trips on truck routes. Under the Labour Act you are owed at least one rest day of 24 hours in every seven days. Ask how overtime and trip allowances are paid before you accept.

The top band in the ads we read went to commercial truck drivers with about three years of experience. Keep your licence class up to date, keep proof of past employers, and learn the main routes between your city and the ports or depots. Contract roles often pay more than permanent ones but may not last all year.

8 of 9 dispatch rider ads on Jobberman showed ₦70,000–₦150,000. Many firms give you a company bike. Read the dispatch rider guide.

Walk away if you are asked to pay for a form, training, a uniform, a test or a “starter kit”, promised high pay for little work, or asked for your BVN, bank PIN or OTP before you have even met the employer. Jobberman calls certification, background-check or set-up fees “a big red flag”. The EFCC has said it does not collect money from job seekers and asks people to report such requests at its nearest office or a police station.

All 10 warning signs →

Never pay a “registration” fee or a deposit to be given a vehicle.