‘Sacked Maina is still collecting salary, emolument, treating files’

* I did not sign his reinstatement letter- AGF Malami
*As Senate begins fresh probe

A new twist has been introduced to the Mainagate as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), Thursday informed the House of Representatives that he did not sign the letter reinstating the embattled Chairman, Pension Reform Task Team, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina.

The development came just as the lawyer to Maina, Mohammed Sani Katu, revealed that his client is still receiving his salary, emoluments and treating files.

The startling revelation occurred during the Investigative Hearing on the Disappearance, Reappearance and Promotion of Maina by the House Ad-hoc Committee chaired by Hon Ali Madaki

Testifying before the committee, the AGF, who traced the genesis of his involvement in the whole saga to when he met Maina in the United Arab Emirates in January, 2016, said Maina made a submission to him over a N3.3billion pension scam for which he was almost eliminated.

According to the chief law officer for the country, the submission led to correspondences between his office and Maina during which court judgements were made available to him and that such judgements were delivered before his appointment as the AGF and even before the advent of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Malami also corroborated the earlier submission by both the Head of Service of the Federation, HOSF, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita and Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Aderemi Akande,that he made a panel to be set up to review Maina’s sack and ultimate reinstatement.

Malami, while carpeting a pension media syndicate for the campaign of calumny mounted against him in recent times, said that he had no vested interest in the Maina case and the issue at hand was a big pension fraud that involves civil servants, politicians and some members of the National Assembly.

He also claimed that Maina was part of the pension fraud syndicate who fell out with his co-travellers and fled the country in the course of the imbroglio.

He said, ”Maina has been part of the syndicate and things fell apart between him and others which made him to flee the country”.

Shedding light on the reinstatement of Maina, AGF said that he, acting based on a letter from lawyers to Maina (Onyema Restoration Chambers),on February 19, 2017 reverted his earlier stance for the reinstatement of Maina, while writing on October 8, 2017, wrote that the reinstatement should be kept in view.

The AGF later stunned the lawmakers when he disclosed that, “As at October 5, 2017, it was a work in progress and not concluded. So as at February 21, 2017, the letter for the reinstatement of Maina couldn’t have come from me”.

In her submission, the HOSF, Oyo-Ita said her office started receiving letters from the office of the AGF over the Maina case sometimes this year.

She said, “Maina was dismissed in 2013 from the civil service based on absondment. Sometimes this year, we started receiving letters from the AGF addressed to the Federal Civil Service Commission and copied to my office. The AGF in the letters directed that Maina be reinstated. The Federal Civil Service Commission set up a committee to review the case and took a decision that he be reinstated and sent a letter to this effect to my office accordingly.
“However, I held on to the letter because I needed clarification, but the said Maina was absorbed into the Ministry of Interior. I still have the original letter with me and Maina has no right to resume without an official letter from my office to that effect”.

On his part, Chairman of the FCSC said the commission decided to do the letter reinstating Maina due to pressure from the office of the AGF.

“Sometimes in 2014, Maina wrote to the commission appealing for repeal of his dismissal for abscondment in 2013 and it was turned down.But in 2017, the commission received a letter from the AGF dated January 19, 2017. The AGF again sent another letter on the same subject matter dated April 27, 2017, we responded and a third letter came from the AGF, stating that the basis for the dismissal of Maina could not stand based on a judgement. We then wrote to the Ministry of Interior for advice and the ministry responded that Maina should be reinstated.

Stating his ministry’s side of the story, Minister of Interior, , Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau, absolved himself of any blame, claiming that it was an establishment matter involving civil servants and that the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, who was unavoidably absent was in the best position to talk on the matter.

But the lawyer to Maina, Mr Mohammed Sani Katu, made incredible submission, when he told the lawmakers that his client is still in the civil service and was ever dismissed.

According to him, Maina is still collecting his salary, emolument and treating files.

He urged the committee to give his client protection from security operatives in the country to allow him come out of hiding and enable him tell Nigerians the whole story.

The committee in its ruling, adjourned further siting till November 30 to enable the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Interior and Maina to be physically present and testify.

In a related development, the Senate on Thursday opened a fresh line of probe into the activities Maina and his team.

Against this background, the Senate has constituted a Committee saddled with the task of probing the circumstances surrounding the reinstatement of the head of the defunct Presidential Task Force on Pensions into the civil service.

The Committee is also to investigate the whereabouts of the assets siezed from alleged pension thieves by the defunct Pension Reform Task Team as well as alleged sharing of the loot by some interest groups within the federal government.

The resolve by the Senate to open a new book of probe on Maina followed a motion by Senator Emmanuel Paulker,‎ the chairman of the committee probing the reinstatement of Maina which he moved during plenary.

Paulker in his motion after laying a preliminary report, raised the alarm that its committee stumbled on some details about alleged shady deals in respect of recovered properties by the defunct task force.

Supporting the motion by Senator Paulker, Senator Gbenga Ashafa (APC, Lagos East), commended the committee for uncovering of the alleged fraud on management of recovered pension loots and property.

The Senate consequently resolved to extend the scope of time given to the committee to enable it get to the root of the new revelations and alleged fraud inherent in activities of the defunct Presidential Task Force headed by Maina.‎‎

In another development, the Senate has set up an adhoc committee‎ to probe the standoff between the Directorate of State Services (DSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives in Abuja.

‎Senate President, Bukola Saraki, however announced the constitution of an eight-member committee headed by Senator Francis Alimikhena for the probe.

Other members of the committee are Shaaba Lafiagi, Chkwuka Utazi, Abudulaziz Nyako, Ajayi Borrofice, Fatima Raji-Rasaki, Shehu Sani and Dino Melaye.

The Senate also set up an adhoc committee to look into the rising state of insecurity in the country,
Members of the committee include; Abdullahi Yahaya, Paulker Emmanuel, Joshua Lidani, Abubakar Kyari, Barnabas Gemade and Abdullahi Adamu.

Others are Olusola Adeyeye , Biodun Olujimi , Enyinnaya Abaribe, Sam Egwu, Rose Oko, and Magnus Abe.‎

Olufemi Samuel and Henry Omunu, Abuja