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Lawmakers monthly earnings can’t last more than three days – Dogara
On Wednesday, Yakubu Dogara, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, stated that the monthly salary of legislators is insufficient to sustain them for longer than three days.
This came as he pleaded with the lawmakers to reveal their financial information in order to refute rumours that they were receiving enormous monthly salaries.
Dogara revealed this information during her speech at the House's inaugural legislative open week in Abuja.
The leader of the Peoples Democratic Party claimed that, while serving as a representative, he received a monthly salary of less than N400,000, while as a presiding officer, he received a monthly allowance of N25 million. He emphasised that, despite the fact that their allowances are insufficient to last them more than three days, lawmakers' earnings have been prioritised for some time.
"As a Speaker, I was paid less than N400,000," he declared. I'm not sure if it has been raised since. I instructed my accountant to build a separate account specifically for the impress, with a total of N25 million, and I never ever withdrew anything from it. The requirements of the constituents were served by using everything that was taken into consideration.
"My accountant expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of demand on the account, so I advised him to borrow money if the available funds ran out. You put money back where you took it when it comes in.
"I'm stating this so Nigerians can let their legislators some breathing room and understand that the story regarding members’ pay.
It is common knowledge that democracy is costly. If we believe that democracy is too costly, perhaps we ought to ask our political scientists to create a more affordable local model for us.
The former speaker also pleaded with the MPs to put an end to public intimidation that is forcing them to give up on democracy for whatever reason.
Recall that Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House, recently stated that federal MPs' pay does not allow them to fulfil their elected duties at home.
Kalu asked for understanding, emphasising that the ordinary lawmaker's take-home wage is a "far cry" from what some people suggest. She said that calling for a 50% salary cut is not the answer to the current issue.
Speaking about the National Assembly's remuneration at the moment, Kalu stated. It is not as much as people think, as I have repeatedly stated. Pay is not the same as allowance, which is intended to help us carry out the tasks that our constituents have assigned us.