Maina: Senate had to pressure Jonathan to sack ex-pension reforms chief - David Mark

He said the Senate pressured the president because Maina boasted of being connected to the presidency.

Former Senate President, David Mark, has revealed that the National Assembly had to resolve to threatening former President Goodluck Jonathan before he sacked former chairman of the defunct Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms (PTTPR), Abdulrasheed Maina, in 2013.

In a book written by the Chairman of the Editorial Board of ThisDay Newspaper, Olusegun Adeniyi, Mark revealed that the National Assembly took the drastic step after Maina refused to attend summons from a Senate committee, and was bragging about his ties to the presidency.

He said, "You know he (Maina) is a very loud fellow who talks too much. He was all over the place, boasting about his connection to the Presidential Villa and kept on bluffing the Senate.

"To compound the issue, he was indeed seen driving in and out of Aso Rock in a convoy of vehicles with police escort. It was at a point when I couldn't take the nonsense any longer that I decided on the letter to the President."

 

In the book titled "Against the Run of Play", Mark said the failure of the police to apprehend Maina after his refusal to meet with the committee investigating him pushed the leadership of the National Assembly to pressure then-President Jonathan to dismiss him.

In a letter sent to Jonathan in February 2013, the former Senate President said he had given him a two-day ultimatum to get rid of Maina from the civil service.

In the book, he was quoted as saying, "The Executive has to choose between the Senate and Maina. He has crucified himself. If Maina remains, then the Senate would react appropriately. The Senate is not lacking in ideas on what to do.

"Nobody in this country is bigger than our democracy. I have been extremely patient with Maina, so that when we react, they will know that we have been fair. This Senate is not going to allow this to linger.

"If in two days they (the police) have not done anything, we can come here and convene and take a decision. This Senate will bite when it needs to bite, and when we decide to bite, there will be no room for escape.

"The reaction is the correct reaction; no matter the depth of the Maina situation, nobody in this country will be left to go free, if he is associated with Maina. No matter who is behind Maina, we are not going to accept it."

The case against Maina reared its head again this week after it was discovered that he had been recalled and promoted to head the Ministry of Interior's human resource department.

This came after he was dismissed by the Federal Civil Service Commission in 2013 following a recommendation by the Office of the Head of Service.

In 2015, he was charged alongside former Head of Service, Steve Oronsaye, Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited before a Federal High Court on a 24-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence through the award of fraudulent biometric contracts.

After he was declared wanted over an alleged N2 billion pension fraud, he fled abroad to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), evading the capture of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, and Head of Service, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, have been reported to be instrumental to the process of Maina's recall.

On Monday, after his reinstatement drew public condemnation, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered Maina's 'disengagement' and ordered a full investigation into the circumstances of his recall.

On Tuesday, the Senate and House of Representatives also set up separate ad-hoc committees to investigate the issue.

ALSO READ: Buhari, Goodluck Jonathan go to war over Maina

Former President Jonathan has also been dragged in the controversy as the presidency has publicly accused him of being responsible for the mess, an accusation he has rejected.

SOURCE - PULSE.NG posted by Campus94