A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Wednesday clarified the misconceptions surrounding the earnings of National Assembly members, revealing that his own salary and allowances were far less than the public assumes.
Dogara, who served in the 8th National Assembly from 2015 to 2019 representing the Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal constituency of Bauchi State, disclosed during the ‘Legislative Open Week’ organized by the House of Representatives in Abuja.
He said contrary to popular belief, federal legislators do not receive exorbitant salaries and allowances.
Addressing the audience, Dogara stated, “My allowances, everything as a Speaker then, was ₦25 million. I asked my accountant to open an account for this money because this money was not mine.”
He did not specify whether this ₦25 million was a monthly, annual, or total amount for his entire tenure.
Dogara also commented on the public’s exaggerated views about legislative earnings, saying, “Even we talk about the allowances the people think are humongous, Mr Speaker forgive me, the House should forgive me.”
Further emphasizing his point, Dogara revealed his monthly salary as Speaker was less than ₦400,000.
“I don’t know whether they have increased it but when I was there, my salary was not up to ₦400,000 a month. So a young man in my constituency said, ‘You mean this is your salary? I can even hire you to work for me.'”
He highlighted the financial pressures faced by legislators due to constituents’ expectations, explaining that it was nearly impossible for members to retain their allowances for personal use.
“Honestly speaking, there was never a time I took one naira out of that account home. As a matter of fact, there was never a time that money lasted three days,” Dogara stated.
He urged fellow lawmakers to communicate transparently about their earnings to dispel myths and manage public expectations.
“Whatever a member gets, citizens must know this. No matter how stingy that member is because of expectations from our citizens, it is very difficult for that money to last for a month in the hands of that member,” he added.
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