The Presidency on Wednesday said some influential government officials loyal to the previous administration reinstated the wanted ex-chairman of Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said this in a statement made available to journalists.
Background:
- Maina was dismissed in 2013 by the Federal Civil Service Commission following a recommendation by the Office of the Head of Service.
- He was accused of massive pension fraud scheme amounting to more than N100 billion.
- Maina sued the Senate, after the upper chamber issued an arrest warrant against him.
- Maina was dismissed by the Head of Service for allegedly absconding from duty and attempting to evade arrest and charged to court.
- Reports recently emerged that Maina has returned to the country, now works with the government and has been promoted.
- However, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered his immediate disengagement from office and also queried the Head of Service over his reinstatement.
- The EFCC stormed a mansion in Abuja belonging to Maina, who is till on its wanted list.
- Winifred, Oyo-Ita, head of service also denied any complicity in the reinstatement of Maina.
- The EFCC recently sealed four houses and 2 companies belonging to Maina.
What Shehu said:
- Some influential officials loyal to Jonathan causes the scandal.
- Everything will be uncovered soon.
He said, “Some influential officials loyal to the previous government may have been the invisible hand in the latest scandal that saw the return of Maina to the public service, despite being on the EFCC’s wanted list.
“Everything will be uncovered in due course. This just goes to show us the scale of corruption that this government is fighting. And, as we can all see, corruption keeps fighting back viciously.”
“Over and over again, President Buhari’s government has pointed out that the administration’s greatest problem is the mess left behind by the previous government. Maina is just one more example,” he added.
Shehu added that Maina was not the only PDP member involved in the pension fraud.
“Top officials in the PDP government, from sectoral heads to those charged with responsibility for law and order, received some of these billions of naira from Maina.
“We have all the transaction records and these are matters that the EFCC has been pursuing to ensure that they all have their day in court,” he said.
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