“Ex-Speaker Dogara: ‘I Never Spent My N25 Million Allowance, Used It For Constituents’”

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara on Wednesday revealed that he collected N25 million as his allowance as Speaker while he was the Speaker.
He also said that his salary was N400,000 contrary to the figures being peddled on social media.
The clarification Dogara said was necessary following public misconception that members of the National Assembly earn huge salaries and allowances.
Dogara made the revelation on Wednesday while delivering his goodwill message at the ongoing ‘Open NASS Week’ at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Dogara was the Speaker of the House in 8th Assembly, which ran between June 2015 to June 2019.
Dogara explained that the funds were never adequate due to the plethora of requests from constituents.
The former Speaker said he never spent any part of the allowances, adding that, he asked his account officer to open a designated account, where the monies were kept to service requests from his Constituents and other Nigerians, for four years.
“While I was Speaker my salary was 400 thousand Naira and my total allowance was 25 million naira, I told my accountant to open a separate account for the allowances and I never for once took any money out of that account everything that came into that account was used to cater for 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, and when money comes it you return to were you had taken money from.
“I am saying this so Nigerians will give their legislatures breathing space and know that the narrative is not true about members’ pay.”
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