The Presidency on Thursday said President Goodluck Jonathan
could not sack the Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed
Maina.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr.
Reuben Abati, said Maina is a civil servant and that his fate could only be
decided according to the civil service procedure.
Another spokesman for Jonathan, the President’s Senior Special
Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said the Presidency had referred
Maina’s case to the Office of Head of Service of the Federation.
Also on Thursday, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed
Abubakar, said Maina was still on the run.
The Senate had on Wednesday gave Jonathan a two-day ultimatum
within which to sack the PRTT boss from the Federal Civil Service.
The upper legislative chamber said Jonathan would need to choose
between the Senate and Maina, threatening that the legislature had teeth
to bite.
“The executive has to choose between the Senate and Maina. He
has crucified himself. If Maina remains, then the Senate would react
appropriately,” Senate President, David Mark, had said after a debate on a
motion entitled, “Dismissal of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina for refusal to appear
before the Senate.”
The debate was sponsored by the Leader of the Senate, Victor
Ndoma-Egba (SAN), and 107 senators, urging Jonathan to sack Maina from the
public service. The Senate has 109 members.
The two-day ultimatum ends on Friday (today).
But Abati said Jonathan did not possess the power to
personally discipline civil servants.
He said, “Maina is a civil servant. If he has done something
that amounts to a breach of civil service rule, the appropriate office to do
the right thing and ensure that due process is followed is the office of the
Head of Service of the Federation.”
The presidential spokesman said that Jonathan believed in due
process.
“There are laid down procedures for handling situations like
this. The President believes in due process. We don’t have to worry ourselves.
It is a matter for the civil service to handle. The President does not have to
be disciplining civil servants personally,” adding, “Nobody should suggest that
the President is backing Maina. It is not an issue for the President.”
Abati however acknowledged that the Senate had constitutional
right to summon anybody and the right to declare such a person wanted if he
failed to appear before the lawmakers.
He said only the Head of Service of the Federation, Isa Saleh,
could take any action on Maina.
Abati said, “The Senate has constitutional power to summon
anybody. If such a person fails to appear before them, the lawmakers are also
empowered to issue a warrant of arrest against the person.
“The President has not in any way stood in the way of the Senate
in inviting Maina. You will recall that the police even declared him wanted.”
Okupe however told journalists in Abuja, “The relationship with
the leadership of the Senate and the President of the Senate is such that
cannot be tampered with on the altar of favouritism to anybody.
“The President and the Presidency hold the leadership of the
Senate in highest esteem and will not do anything to spoil that relationship.
“The issue of Maina has been referred to the head of service.
“Maina is a civil servant and I believe that the matter will be
thoroughly investigated and disciplinary action will be effected.”
But the IG explained that the pension task force boss was
still on the run and that the police were ready to execute the warrant for his
arrest. He called on the public to avail the Police with useful information
that could lead to his arrest.
The Senate had on Wednesday summoned Abubakar over his refusal
to apprehend Maina.
But the IG, who spoke through the Deputy Force Public Relations
Officer, Frank Mba, in Abuja on Thursday, said the police had yet to arrest
Maina because he was in hiding.
Abubakar denied that Maina had police guards.
He said, “If you are conversant with policing tradition, you
will understand that the declaration of any person wanted is usually necessitated
by a need. In this instance, he (Maina) was declared wanted because he went
into hiding and made it difficult for the force to execute a warrant of arrest
that was legitimately issued.
“And the Nigeria Police Force remains irrevocably committed to finding
him and as soon as we lay our hands on him, we will arrest him and take him
before the Senate as has been mandated in that warrant of arrest.”
On allegation that Maina was still having policemen guarding
him, the IG said, “Maina has no police officer in his entourage to the best of
my knowledge. And again media practitioners are responsible members of the
society and even in that declaration and in the press release that we issued
declaring Maina a wanted man, we did say that if any citizen that has
information that could help us in executing that order, the person should
please pass that information to the appropriate authority. So if you have
information that could help us in executing this warrant of arrest, we will be
glad to receive it from you.”
Meanwhile, civil rights groups on Thursday berated the
Presidency in its handling of the controversy surrounding the PRTT boss.
The groups, including the Campaign for Democracy and the
Anti-Corruption Coalition of Nigeria, accused the Presidency of shielding the
embattled pension task force chairman.
The Executive Secretary of ACCN, Mr. Dino Melaye, said, “It is
obvious that the Presidency is shielding Maina. This government is the promoter
of corruption and corrupt persons. Obviously Maina did not steal alone; he has
police, SSS following him everywhere.
“A sincere government would have sacked or suspend him since.
This government is growing from being a weak government to becoming a wicked
government. Let us see what the President will do on this.
“It is only thieves without presidential connections who
fear the law in Nigeria,” the CD President, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said in her
reaction to the Maina issue.
Source: Punch
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