NEWS:N2bn pension fraud: Is FG’s handling of Maina’s case appropriate?

So far , the President has done very well by asking for investigation and the report has been investigated . It is the follow -up action that will determine how serious the government is . The claim that Mr . ( Abdulrasheed ) Maina has fled the country once again is a provocative insult that should be rejected by Nigerians . President ( Muhammadu ) Buhari ought to direct the Minister of Interior , Gen . Abulrahaman Dambazau, to produce the suspect having admitted that he has resumed duty under his watch . Since the suspect has been located in Abuja , the Federal Government should apologise to INTERPOL which has been requested to look for him outside Nigeria . Furthermore , since it has been confirmed that Mr . Maina has been seen in Abuja by some top officials of the Federal Government , the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should remove his name and photograph from its website as the suspect is no longer “a wanted person.” The significance of the swift reaction of President Buhari to the ‘Mainagate’ will be lost if the report of the inquiry into the scandal is once again treated in a cavalier manner like the grass cutting probe . • Femi Falana ( SAN and Human rights activist)
How can a man who was already indicted for fraud of that magnitude be recalled to the civil service and given another serious mandate by an administration that claims it is fighting corruption ? The head of service has said that she was not the one that redeployed him and she is not aware of the man ’s presence in office ; so who redeployed him? I think this is a sad one and a big setback to a government that claims to be fighting corruption . We will need a very thorough investigation into the matter ; but unfortunately , we are not so sure if the report will be made public , especially when the President ’s cronies are indicted just like the case of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation . This is a critical situation for us in Nigeria , but my advice is that we should go beyond political persecution because the majority of the bigwigs in the All Progressives Congress of today were formerly in the Peoples Democratic Party ; so , they are of the same ideology . This case of Maina is an eye opener and I do not believe that he is the only one that has been reinstated this way ; there might be others . I have lost confidence in the ( Muhammadu ) Buhari -led administration because of many inconsistencies and double standards . I had thought that as a former military man , he ( Buhari ) would be straightforward , but recent developments , especially the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation saga , have changed my thinking . The role of the Fourth Estate of the realm should be brought to the fore during this critical period of our nation ’ s history.
• Joseph Bassey ( Deputy Speaker , Cross River State House of Assembly )
I am surprised that somebody who was declared wanted and fled the country could come into the country unnoticed and then be reabsorbed in the public service . The government acted almost immediately by ordering an investigation and dismissing the man , so I think the government ’s action is in line. For now , I only pray that the outcome of the investigation will not go the way the other ones have been going. You recall that we have a lot of outstanding investigations and inquiries like the one on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Director - General of the National Intelligence Agency and the others . Their reports have yet to be released and I just hope that this one will not be delayed like the others because of the outrage that it has generated nationwide ; so we are watching. When a person is declared wanted and is not placed on the watch list, the person can easily come into the country . But if he is on the watch list , he should be intercepted when coming into the country . So , it is either he was not on the watch list of the Department of State Services or he entered into the country through an illegal route . But even if he entered through an illegal route , how come the government which is aware that he is wanted , reabsorb him into the service ? It calls for a lot of investigation and that is why I am in support of Mr President ’s action by dismissing the man and calling for an immediate investigation and a report within 24 hours . We have never had a report submitted that quickly before and I expect that by now , Nigerians must have been informed of what happened . • Mike Ejiofor ( An ex-Director , Department of State Services )
The treatment of the allegations of corrupt practices levelled against Mr . Abdulrasheed Maina and his secret reinstatement leave much to be desired . With due sense of responsibility , the reinstatement of Maina to the Ministry of Interior when the grievous allegation of embezzlement or diversion of N100 bn pensioners’ money is hanging on his neck is not only ludicrous but indefensible. To add insult to injury , the constituted authorities concerned are trading blames and passing the buck . In my mind , this is a national embarrassment and it is capable of undermining the fight against corruption and sending negative signals to the world on the seriousness of this administration to rid this nation of corruption and corrupt elements . I commend the prompt decision of President Muhammadu Buhari and I want to say that the administrative process of disengagement of Maina must commence in earnest and above all Mr . President should conduct holistic investigation into this matter and there must be no sacred cows . If Maina is found culpable , he should be prosecuted as required by the law and his accomplices , if in government , should be sacked immediately . I pray that the investigation is transparent and is done with dispatch and alacrity . The pensioners are losing their lives and somebody has the effrontery to embezzle their funds ! This is the height of insensitivity and the action is despicable and ungodly . I wonder why Maina will not make himself available to stand trial . He is , though, still presumed to be innocent until proven guilty . • Rafiu Balogun ( National Legal Adviser , Nigerian Bar Association )
The Presidency has acted rightly because I can ’t believe this kind of thing would have happened when I was a permanent secretary at the Federal Civil Service Commission . The issue is that Maina was dismissed and declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission . In essence , it means that his reinstatement was subjudice because he had a pending case in court. So , there shouldn’t have been any action until the declaration of his being wanted had been vacated and had been cleared by the EFCC. If these conditions had been met , then reinstating him would have been in order. So , the reinstatement shouldn’t have taken place until he had been given a clean bill of health and cleared of all allegations . The letters I have seen in the media such as the ones written by the Federal Civil Service Commission , the Head of Service and the Ministry of Interior and the denials issued by the HoS and the minister regarding their involvements did not speak well of the institutions . It is not good for the image of the Federal Government . So , the President has asked for his dismissal and I think that is enough . The President didn ’t need to order his arrest since the EFCC has already declared that Maina is wanted . So , why should he be declared a second time ? Let the EFCC fish him out . The FCSC acted on a letter from the Ministry of Justice , so I will not blame them ; but if it had happened during my own time , we would have gone to the President himself to find out if Maina had a case . Ordinarily , the Attorney General of the Federation cannot act without the knowledge of his principal . So , the HoS , Ministry of Justice , the Ministry of Interior and the FCSC have some questions to answer. • Gambo Magaji ( A retired permanent secretary )
Compiled by : Eniola Akinkuotu , Mudiaga Affe and Success Nwogu

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