Anti-graft war: Heads to roll as Buhari sacks Maina

…Orders HOSF to submit report on his recall
…I did not approve his reinstatement -Oyo-Ita
…PDP, lawyers want EFCC to arrest Maina, seek removal of Dambazzau, AGF

Lateef Ibrahim, Mathew Dadiya, Andrew Orolua, Jude Idu, Abuja and Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado Ekiti

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday demonstrated his resolve to pursue the war against corruption to the logical conclusion when he ordered the immediate sacking of the embattled former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Mr. Abdullahi Abdulrasheed Maina, from the service.

Buhari also demanded the Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF), Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, to submit before the close of work on Monday, a full report of the circumstances that led to Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior.

The report, according to the President’s directives, was to be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, before the close of work on Monday.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement on Monday, said that the President’s directive was contained in a memo addressed the HOSF.

But The Daily Times also gathered that those involved in Maina’s recall and posting may lose their jobs as Buhari was said to be angry over the development.

One of the Presidential aides also confided in The Daily Times on Monday night that, “I can tell you right away that Mr. President is very angry that a man who was allegedly involved in massive corruption over diversion of billions of naira of pension funds can be surreptitiously smuggled back to the civil service where he perpetrated that heinous crime.

“It is very shameful. You must know that Mr. President is a man that abhors corruption and his integrity has never been in doubt. “In any case, Mr. President is going to use this Maina issue as an example of anybody that crosses the red line on the war against corruption.

“I can assure you that anybody that played any role in Maina’s reabsorption cannot escape punishment. Nigerians should expect more from the President any moment from now.”

Maina’s problems began in 2013 when he was said to have allegedly embezzled over N100 billion Pensions fund. But Maina must have stirred the hornet’s nest when he was secretly recalled to the service and promoted to head a directorate in the Ministry of Interior.

The Daily Times recalls that in 2012, Maina was accused of leading a massive pension fraud scheme amounting to over N100billion. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had also in 2013 declared Maina wanted during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Maina was a deputy director in the Federal Ministry of Interior when he was drafted by the former administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 to sanitise a corrupt pension system.

But instead of sanitising the system, Maina was accused of embezzling the pensions fund in excess of N100 billion. Based on the allegation of corruption, Maina was invited by the Senate Joint Committee on Public Service and Establishment and State and Local Government Administration. The Senate, after completion of its investigation, issued a Warrant of Arrest against Maina.

But Maina ignored the Senate committee and went ahead to sue the Senate and the then Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar. He thereafter reportedly went into hiding after being declared wanted by the police.

Consequently, Maina was dismissed by the HoS for allegedly absconding from duty and attempting to evade arrest and prosecution. He was on July 21, 2015 mentioned by the EFCC as a major accomplice in a 24-count charge filed against Stephen Oronsaye and two others before a Federal High Court bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, has denied involvement in the process that led to the reinstatement of the sacked civil servant. The minister also denied responsibility on Maina’s recall to the service, adding that “Maina was posted few days ago to the Ministry of Interior by the Office of the HOSF on an Acting capacity to fill a vacancy created following the retirement of the Director heading the Human Resources Department in the Ministry”.

The minister blamed Maina’s recall on the Office of the HOSF and the Federal Civil Service Commission. Dambazau said, “two bodies are responsible for issues relating to Discipline, Employment, Reengagement, Posting, Promotion and Retirements of Federal Civil Servants.” The statement did not say if Dambazau was aware Maina is still a fugitive wanted by the EFCC.

“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,” the statement added. While Oronsaye and the two other accused were in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge, the EFCC said Maina was at large.

Maina is said to have spent these past years in the United Arab Emirates from where he reportedly kept lobbying to win the attention of the Buhari administration.

But as the controversy over the recall of Maina continued to gather momentum, the HOSF has denied report that she approved Maina’s reinstatement and subsequent posting to the Ministry of Interior. Oyo-Ita, in a statement by her Assistant Director, Media Relations, Mohammed Manga, insisted that Maina’s restatement and posting did not emanate from her office.

Oyo-Ita said: “The attention of the Office of the HoSF has been drawn to several media reports that the HoSF has approved the reinstatement into the Federal Civil Service of Alhaji Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina and his subsequent posting to the Ministry of Interior.

“The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) wishes to inform the public that the reinstatement and posting of Maina never emanated from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

But some senior lawyers on Monday called on the EFCC to arrest and prosecute Maina who has been on its wanted list since 2015 under the leadership of the acting chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

Commenting on the development on Monday, a senior lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), said that EFCC and other security agencies should be allowed to perform their duties and that they must be seen as carrying out the functions assigned to them by their establishment Acts.

He urged the Federal Government to speak out and clear doubts on how a person declared wanted by security agency was reabsorbed, adding “the Federal Government should be bold to say if he has been cleared of the charge against him.”

Also speaking on same issue, an Abuja based legal practitioner, Mr. Daniel Bwala, said the circumstances of Maina’s recall raised doubts, saying that the development is an abuse of due process. He said: “First, there was allegations that he embezzled N100bn pension fund.

He ran away, thus reinforcing the proof that he embezzled the fund. He was charged but he was at large and he cannot be said to have been exonerated.” He said the Federal Government should investigate Mai- na’s reinstatement.

He added that the Federal Government should also not rely on pronouncement made by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Mr. Okoi ObonoObla, to the effect that “No court has found Maina guilty” to sweep the matter under the carpet. Bwala also said that EFCC should not be intimidated over threats by some agencies or establishment to drop the charge against Maina.

“The presidency should in all honesty, investigate the circumstances that led to Maina’s reinstatement and punish the people who were behind him in undermining the due process of the law.”

Obono- Obla had during a programme on Channels TelevisionPolitics Today- claimed that he did not see reason why some people are aggrieved by Maina’s reinstatement.

He added that the discipline, promotion and recruitment of public servants are the responsibilities of the Federal Civil Service Commission, saying that nobody should blame the President for the lapses.

In a related development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of Maina for dipping his hands into pension funds and allegedly helping himself to the tune of N100 billion while the exercise lasted. The opposition PDP also called for the arrest and prosecution of those who helped Maina to return to the country and got him restored to his duty post with promotion added.

The party specifically demanded the immediate sacking of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Lt. Gen Abdulrahman Danbazzau (rtd), AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) who have been fingered in the illegal act of restoring Maina to office against good conscience.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, on Monday, pointed table disposition of coming out in their numbers to generously donate to the needy.

Responding, the Deputy Commander Peace Corps Plateau State, Patriot Vwarak Davou, said the gesture is in line with the Corps mandate which is aimed at providing succor for distressed. Davou who represented the State Commandant Patriot Joseph said the state of the Corps is also emulating the National Commandant of the Peace Corps who has donated generously to the less privilege.

Daily Times reports that among items donated to the IDP are Rice, Maize, Potato, Water, Eggs, Onions, Salts, Cooking Oil, Soaps, Seasonings and clothes among others. out that Buhari should understand that this is a moral and criminal issue and should be treated as such. The PDP said that though it knows that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is like a dead horse immune to any positive prompting, “We however, will not do, but ask that the right thing be done.”

It further asked that President Buhari should for once, act like a president of a nation and not as a sectional leader whose ideas of right and wrong depends entirely on who is involved. The PDP described Maina reinstatement: as a classical example of honour among thieves.

Also, Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has described Buhari’s sacking of Maina as an afterthought, saying that the President only acted to “save his face from the global embarrassment caused him by the outcry of Nigerians on the news of Maina’s reinstatement.”

Fayose also demanded for the immediate arrest and trial of Maina as well as sack of all those who perpetrated his reinstatement, which he described as fraudulent and shameful.

In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose, who likened Buhari’s anticorruption fight to a situation where “Satan is calling Judas Iscariot a sinner,” reminded Nigerians that he said before now that the kind of corruption that will be witnessed in President Buhari’s government will be unprecedented and that he had been vindicated. Meanwhile, several teams comprising riot police officers attached to the EFCC) have embarked on man hunt for Maina, who was sacked on Monday by the presidency.

The armed police officers including plain cloth operatives on Monday stormed a mansion in Abuja belonging to the embattled Maina. One of our correspondents who visited the building at No. 10 Hamisu Musa Road, Jabi, Abuja on Monday evening saw stern looking police officers and operatives in red jacket combing the compound and the house.

The Jabi building was said to have been acquired by Maina for $2 million, raising suspicions that the purchase of the property might have been from proceeds of crime. Maina is also said to have owned other houses located at No. 12, Road 11, Kado Estate which EFCC operatives are laying siege for his possible arrest.