Maina’s sacks: President Buhari lacks power to sack…Lawyer,

A legal luminary, Barrister Marc Enamhe has said that President Muhammadu Buhari lacked legal power to sack the Acting Director, Ministry of Interior, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, no matter the offence committed rather he should have been subjected to necessary rules and regulations as enshrined in the civil service rules.

Barrister Enamhe told Daily Times on phone that “Maina is a top civil servant, in as much as the President has enormous powers; he can’t sack a senior civil servant from service like that. There are civil service rules, which stipulate trial and suspension, if found guilty, public opinion should not influence the President to take such hash decision but should be guided.

He advised the President to follow the right process, if not, he will make Maina to look like actor, because after 10 years when Buhari must have left, Maina will go to court and claim damages against the Federal Government. The President can call for memo from relevant department or offices he was posted to furnish him with necessary fact rather taken laws into his hand.

According to him, after this was done, he can direct the Chairman of civil service commission or head of service to take appropriate action against those found wanting but cannot on his own take such decision of sacking Maina, Maina is above him. “He should do proper thing because if he does not, another person will be a victim of such hash action.

He said “If Maina has absconded; the civil service should have dismissed him a long time. Those who brought him back should be the ones to face the music now, if it was civil service who dismissed him according to the rules that he absconded, not at his duty post and having dismissed him who brought him back.?

“President should have called the head of service to find out who brought him back, the head of service can now set up a ministerial committee of permanent secretaries and say try this man and let me know who is culpable.

On the exchange of words between the Head of service and Chief of Staff, Barrister Enamhe queried “who is a Chief of Staff, a Chief of Staff is an officer who oversees President’s personal staff, those are not confirm by the National Assembly, such as drivers, cooks etc all President aides apart from those who are on secondment from defence headquarters,

“Head of Service is official of government who is in charge all permanent Secretaries and other personnel in government. It is an insult for the Chief of Staff to challenge the Head of Service; he should be dismissed by the President or Governor, because he undermined the office of the Head of Services.

Edem Bassey, Calabar