Many govt officials ready to work for free, says Dogara

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has claimed that many Nigerian government officials are willing to work for free if the public’s expectations of them are reduced.

Dogara made this assertion during an appearance on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, on Friday.

“If we can cut the demands on some of these our government officials by 90 per cent, I assure you that there are so many people there who are willing to work free of charge,” Dogara stated.

“But the situation is that you cannot put a lot of burden on my head, and you knock on my leg which I am supposed to stand in order to carry the burden.”

Dogara’s comments come amid widespread perceptions that politicians are primarily in government for personal financial gain.

Speaking on the hardship and hunger in the country, Dogara revealed that President Bola Tinubu acknowledged the situation during a recent visit of former national assembly leaders to Aso Rock.

According to Dogara, the president assured them that he is working to address the challenges.

READ ALSO: Dogara’s attacks on Gov Bala desperate bid for Tinubu’s favour — Aide

Dogara also addressed the controversy surrounding the removal of the petrol subsidy, which many believe has contributed to the rising inflation and soaring commodity prices.

However, Dogara defended Tinubu, stating that the president cannot be blamed for the subsidy removal as it was not included in the budget before his election.

“We must accept whether we like it or not, except we are disingenuous, to say that the removal of subsidy itself, whether the president said that subsidy was gone or that he was removing subsidy, we all know that subsidy had been removed before he was elected,” Dogara explained.

“It wasn’t in the budget, so if there is no provision in the budget, how do you pay? It is illegal for the executive to appropriate money. They can only appropriate money in consequence of an express legislative authorisation which is the budget. And in this case, there was no provision in the budget.”

Dogara further noted that President Tinubu has accepted responsibility for the challenges facing the country, noting that this is the first step toward finding a solution.