By
Anthony Ogbonna 
Just some hours after the Minister
of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, confirmed the resumption of
duty by former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Mr.
Abdulrasheed Maina, as an Acting Director in his ministry, President Muhammadu
Buhari has ordered for the immediate sack of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina from
service.
Abdulrasheed Maina A statement made
available to newsmen by Femi Adesina, Buhari’s Special Adviser on media, said
President Buhari also asked for a full report on the circumstances of Maina’s
recall. Recall that the minister of Interrior had confirmed Maina’s resumption
of duty in a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Mr Ehisienmen Osaigbovo,
on Sunday. Osaigbovo, had in the confirmatory statement, however, debunked
media reports that his principal was one of those responsible for Maina’s
“re-instatement”.
According to him, “Maina was posted
few days ago to the Ministry of Interior by the Office of the Head of Service
on an Acting capacity to fill a vacancy created following the retirement of the
Director heading the Human Resources Department in the Ministry. “For the
avoidance of doubt, issues relating to discipline, employment, re-engagement,
posting, promotion and retirements of federal civil servants are the
responsibility of the Federal Civil Service Commission and Office of the Head
of Service of the Federation.
“No minister exercises such powers as
erroneously expressed in this publication. “It is understood that Maina’s last
posting was with the Ministry of Interior, and that is probably why he was
re-posted back to the ministry,” he said. But a statement by Femi Adesina, on
Monday, said President Buhari ordered the immediate disengagement of Maina from
service.
He said President Buhari also
demanded for the full report on the circumstances of Maina’s recall. Maina was
appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as Chairman of the task force
in 2010 to check the corruption in the country’s pension system. In 2012, the
Nigeria Police accused him of misappropriating N100 billion pension funds in
connivance with others. The Civil Service Commission reportedly dismissed him
for “absconding from duty’’.
Maina was arraigned in absentia by
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which declared him wanted
in 2015. The anti-graft agency, through its spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said
the former pension task force chairman remains on the commission’s wanted list.
Sunday’s confirmation by the minister followed reports in the online media that
Maina had been secretly re-instated and promoted to the rank of director in the
ministry.
Vanguard News
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