The minister said this today when he featured on Channels Television Sunrise Daily Programme which was monitored by our correspondent.
Obanikoro was responding to the recent allegation by Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he was using the military to stop the mass housing project of the state government at Ilubirin.
The minister, however, was quick to note that he also annually gets another N2 million for various other allowances.
Obanikoro denied that he was using soldiers to intimidate his political opponents, saying he is a responsible citizen and that as a minister, he has no mandate to use soldiers to intimidate anybody.
"It was false! I did not go there (Ilubirin) to stop anything. I can't do anything stupid. The area in question is under high tension wire...I cannot play politics with Lagos State. I am a stakeholder here in Lagos. For people like me to be where I am today is like a miracle because we started from nowhere.
"I currently, I earn N2 million a year as a minister. I did not go there to stop anything. So, a N16 million apartment cannot be for a low income earner. I emphasise, as a minister, I earn N2 million annually, not monthly. Everything put together, with other allowances, is N4 million annually.
"I don't travel everyday. So, you cannot talk about my travel allowances. But if I travel, you would expect that I stay in a hotel that would not cause all of us embarrassment. So, you would expect me to pay hotel bills", the minister said.
Asked whether this was part of his travel allowances, Obanikoro said no, saying he does not travel everyday.
Source: Daily Trust
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