Almost 24 hours after information leaked that President Muhammadu Buhari was in the know about the questionable reinstatement of a dismissed pension fraud suspect into the civil service, the presidency has refused to speak on the matter.
The allegations that Mr. Buhari was briefed of the scheme to surreptitiously recall Abdulrasheed Maina, a fugitive from justice, were raised in an internal memo by the Head of Civil Service, Winifred Oyo-Ita — signalling an escalation in the scandal and its growing impact on the president’s avowed ‘war on corruption.’
“I sought an audience with His Excellency, Mr. President on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, after the FEC meeting where I briefed His Excellency verbally on the wide-ranging implications of the reinstatement of Mr. A. A. Maina, especially the damaging impact on the anti-corruption stance of this administration,” Mrs. Oyo-Ita said in the memo to Mr. Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
The Punch Newspapers published the October 23 correspondence Tuesdaymorning, lending the strongest corroboration yet to an earlier suggestion by Sahara Reporters that Mr. Buhari knew about the Maina affair but was only feigning ignorance to hoodwink the Nigerian public.
Mr. Maina was dismissed from service in 2013 during the Goodluck Jonathan administration for absconding from office following allegations that he diverted billions in public funds for his own use when he headed the pension reform task force.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission subsequently moved to arrest and prosecute him, but Mr. Maina, who was fired as an assistant director, bolted from the law.
He was believed to have fled to Dubai, where he had remained until the Buhari administration facilitated his return under questionable circumstances this year.
Out of the 34-count charge which EFCC filed against a former Head of Civil Service, Steve Oronsaye, over pension fraud, Mr. Maina featured in 27. EFCC sources said he couldn’t be charged because he had been on the run.
“The consequences of the gross breach of public trust in the reinstatement of Mr. Maina could only be minimised if the president comes clean on the scandal,” said a political analyst and automobile expert, Gbola Oba.
Mr. Oba said Mr. Buhari and his aides are not helping themselves by keeping quiet and would “be mistaken if they think they could wait out this humongous scandal that others before it.”
“It’s true that Nigerians have become tired of regular scandals in public service, but this one would likely be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back,” Mr. Oba told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Tuesday night. “The Head of Service has indicted the president, it’s time for him to tell Nigerians his side.” (PT)