The Presidency has insisted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has no moral right to level any accusations against the current administration in respect to the embattled former head of the presidential task force on pension reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.
This was stated in a statement signed on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu.
Shehu described Maina as one of the “monsters created by the former PDP government”, saying they were still rearing their heads long after the PDP was defeated in the 2015 elections.
“Over and over again, the President Muhammadu Buhari government has pointed out that the administration’s greatest problem is the mess left behind by the previous government. Maina is just one more example,” he said.
This comes amid controversies that have accompanied Miana’s reinstatement into the Federal Civil Service after he was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was accused of mismanaging of about N2 billion pension fund, after which he reportedly disappeared from public glare only to resurface in October 2017 and take charge as an acting director in the Ministry of Interior.
Amid various resistance to the development from Nigerians, President Buhari had ordered Maina’s immediate dismissal and demanded a full report of the circumstances of his recall.
His recall had also sparked various reactions as the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the process was an embarrassment to the party and the government while Maina’s family said he should be appreciated and not prosecuted.
Shehu, however, referred to document records from the investigations that led to the disengagement of the former pension boss and his being declared wanted by the EFCC.
He claimed that Maina was not only a top member of the former government involved in the multi-billion naira pensions scandal but a man warmly ensconced in the bosom of power.
“Top officials in the PDP government, from sectoral heads to those charged with responsibility for law and order received some of these billions of naira from Maina,” Shehu alleged.
“We have all the transaction records and these are matters that the EFCC has been pursuing to ensure that they all have their day in court.”
According to him, President Buhari is determined to get to the bottom of the matter of the impunity that led to Maina’s reinstatement.
“Everything will be uncovered in due course. This just goes to show us the scale of corruption that this government is fighting. And, as we can all see, corruption keeps fighting back viciously,” the President’s spokesman added.
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