Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, stated on Wednesday that lawmakers’ monthly earnings cannot sustain them for more than three days.
He urged legislators to make their finances transparent to dispel the misconception that they receive exorbitant monthly salaries.
Dogara made this statement during the inaugural legislative open week of the House in Abuja.
The Peoples Democratic Party chieftain revealed that his monthly salary as a representative was less than N400,000, while his allowance as a presiding officer was N25 million.
He emphasized that despite the perception, lawmakers’ earnings have been modest and often insufficient to cover their expenses.
He explained, “While I was Speaker, my salary was less than N400,000. I don’t know if it has been increased now. My total impress was N25 million, and I instructed my accountant to open a separate account for the impress.
I never once took any money out of that account; it was entirely used to cater to the needs of constituents. My accountant complained about the high demand on the account, and I told him if the money runs out, borrow it. When funds come in, repay what was borrowed.”
Dogara urged Nigerians to give their legislators space, clarifying that the narrative about lawmakers’ pay is not accurate.
He acknowledged that democracy is expensive but suggested that if the cost is deemed too high, political scientists should be asked to develop a cheaper local model.
He further implored lawmakers to resist being pressured into abandoning the current democratic system for any reason.
In a related development, Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, recently commented on the salaries of federal lawmakers.
He stated that the current pay is insufficient for them to perform their duties effectively. Kalu emphasized that the take-home pay is much lower than public perception and argued that reducing their salary by 50 percent would not solve the underlying issues.
Kalu said, “At the moment, the salary of the National Assembly is not as much as people think.
Salary is different from allowance, which is meant to cover the jobs our constituents have sent us to do.”
Subscribe to National Updates for more News.
