Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, stated on Wednesday that federal lawmakers’ monthly income is inadequate to cover expenses beyond three days.
Dogara, who represented Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency in Bauchi State from 2015 to 2019, dismissed notions that federal lawmakers earn exorbitant salaries.
The former speaker disclosed that his monthly salary was less than N400,000, with an additional N25m allowance for constituency projects.
“When I was the Speaker, my salary was less than N400,000, I don’t know if has increased now. My total impress was N25m.
“I told my accountant to open a separate account for the impress, and I never for once took any money out of that account. Everything that came into that account was used to cater to the needs of constituents.
“My accountant complained of the level of demand on the account, and I told him if the money there is finished, borrow it. When money comes, you return it to where you had taken money from,” said the former speaker.
He added, “I am saying this so Nigerians will give their legislatures breathing space and know that the narrative is not true about members’ pay.
“We all know that democracy is expensive, and if we think that it is too expensive, maybe we should ask our political scientists to develop for us a local model that will be cheaper for us.”
Lawmakers’ Salaries Insufficient, Can’t Last 3 Days – Yakubu Dogara is first published on The Whistler Newspaper