Dogara: My monthly salary as speaker was below N400k — lawmakers’ earnings not humongous

Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the house of representatives, says his monthly salary as the leader of the lower chamber was below N400,000.

Dogara was the speaker of the green chamber between 2015 and 2019.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at the legislative open week organised by the house of representatives, the former speaker said Nigerians always think that the salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers are “humongous”.

“I don’t know whether they have increased it, but when I was there, my salary was not up to N400,000 a month,” Dogara said.

“So a young man in my constituency said, ‘What is this thing about number four in Nigeria? You mean this is your salary? I can even hire you to work for me’.

“Even when we talk about the allowances, people think they are humongous. Mr Speaker, forgive me; the house should forgive me.

“My allowances, everything as a speaker then, was N25 million. I asked my accountant to open an account for this money because I knew that this money was not mine… expectations from the constituents and members of the house.

“Honestly speaking, there was never a time I took one naira out of that account home. So it is not a take-home, no matter how stingy you are.

“As a matter of fact, there was never a time that money lasted three days. I am saying this so that even honourable members who are here should let the speaker and deputy speaker breathe.

“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.”

In 2018, Shehu Sani, then senator representing Kaduna central, said he and his colleagues received N13.5 million monthly as running cost.

Sani said the salary of a senator was about N750,000 per month