In a letter written to Senate President, Bukola Saraki, the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, had asked for a fair hearing on his case.

The letter dated June 19, 2015, one week after the inauguration of the present Senate, indicated that the wanted ex-pension boss returned to the country shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015.

Earlier, Maina had ignored several invitations by the joint Senate Committee on Establishment, Public Service and Local Government led by Aloysius Etuk.

The consistent refusal of Maina to honour the invitations by the committee to appear and explain his role in the alleged N195 billion pension fraud forced the Senate to mandate the then Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to compel it to appear.

However, despite a call on the IGP, several threats, and a warrant of arrest on Maina, he refused to show up. Instead, he sued the Senate and the then Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, and thereafter went into hiding after being declared wanted by the police.

Maina’s letter titled “Pension Reform Task Team: Appeal for Review of Investigation Probe by Senate Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration 2011-2013,” was addressed to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Dated June 19, 2015, the letter sought a review of his case and fingered the Senate committee constituted to investigate him of favouring “pension thieves.”

Maina claimed in the letter which leaked to journalists in Kaduna on Friday, a copy of which was published by The Nation, that his team helped the country save about N1.6 trillion from pension thieves.

He noted that his team’s effort led to the arrest of 46 people and firms involved in looting pension funds. He said the 46 of them are currently been investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“We, members of Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), wish to use this medium to apologise for our little late response to reaching back to you,” Maina said.

“We had to put the issues together and source for appurtenant materials. We appreciate your understanding sir.

“As a refresher, the PRTT was inaugurated on June 10, 2010, by the immediate past administration of Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, with a clear mandate to restructure the Head of Service Pension Office, Police Pension Office, among others.

“We did our utmost with precision and national interests as our guiding principles. The PRTT took off effectively by January 2011.

“We used financial intelligence skills to achieve ground-breaking achievements in our assignment.

“We recovered and saved cash and properties worth over N1.6 trillion.

“Our efforts led to the arrest and prosecution of 46 persons/firms involved in the looting of pension funds which we handed to the EFCC. The trials are still ongoing.

“As it is, there is a leakage of N256 billion monthly from the current IPPIS, which needs to be blocked urgently.

“We are also aware of some government hidden accounts which need to be mopped up.

“We can be used to engage any department of government in sanitising the financial workflow to avoid loose ends that remain susceptible to leakages.

“Based on the revelations of massive/monumental fraud and outright stealing of pension funds, which was brought to public attention by the PRTT, the 7th National Assembly by resolution dated 2nd November, 2011 mandated its Committee on Establishment and Public Service, State and Local Government Administration, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the management and administration of pension funds in Nigeria.

“There was a general expectation that the various dimensions of irregularities associated with the management of pension funds in Nigeria would come to an end as a consequence of the investigations being conducted by the Senate Joint Committee.”

Maina alleged that the committee saddled with the responsibility of investigating the matter ended up favouring those involved in embezzling pension funds.

He noted that the biometric system adopted by the team exposed 73,000 ghost pensioners in the office of the Head of Service alone.

“However, the PRTT regrets to observe that rather than achieving the objectives of the spirit and its mandate, which in our view includes but not limited to identifying those responsible for the culture of fraud that characterised the system and bringing them to book, the Senate Joint Committee ended up creating more problems than solutions to the endemic corruption and fraud prevailing in the system.

“In this context, the PRTT, wishes to state without any fear of contradiction that the Senate Joint Committee’s Report submitted, which was subsequently adopted by the 7th Senate but now quashed by the Federal High Court judgement of the 13th March 2013 in favour of the PRTT’s Chairman, not only failed to address the issues at stake but succeeded in misleading the Senate and the generality of Nigerians about the true picture, nature and scope of problems militating against the efficient management and administration of Pension Funds in Nigeria. Copy of said judgement attached and marked “ANNEXURE1”.”

“Today, it (pension) is worse with the Police pension office where daily so much millions are taken out of pension funds in that office. We have evidence to substantiate this.”

Maina in the letter sought an opportunity to present his own side of the pension fraud story.

“As we write to you, Abdulrasheed A. Maina has been dismissed from Civil Service for being absent for three days while his life was under threat following gunshot attack on his person in front of Head of Civil Service Office where his office was located in February 2013. Attached are copies of letters from Nigeria Police Force. “ANNEXURE 3 (a) and (b)”.

“The Task Team and its leadership were not only denied the opportunity for a fair hearing before being pronounced guilty of all manner of allegations but even where the Task Team appeared before the Committee, salient facts related to the issues at stake were deliberately ignored.”

He added that an appeal to the 7th Senate for fair hearing was ignored. As a result, the PRTT approached the Federal High Court Abuja in suit number: FH/ABJ/CS/65/2013. He said the court ruled in his favour on March 13, 2013, noting that till date, the Senate had yet to appeal the judgment of the court.

“We are by this letter appealing to the Federal Government in the spirit of CHANGE which the country is witnessing, and the stand of government on corruption, that opportunity be given to us to present the truth about pension management in Nigeria.”

The Special Adviser (Media) to the Senate President, Yusuf Olaniyonu said on Saturday evening that he could not confirm receipt of the letter.

Olaniyonu had, however, told The Nation Newspapers that the present Senate leadership ignored the letter because the last Senate had taken a decision on the pension matter and there was no reasonable ground to review it.