The Presidency says the claim
that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration invited the wanted
Abdulrasheed Maina back into country is a `freshly minted falsehood’, and
should be discarded by well meaning citizens.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior
Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a two-paragraph
statement issued on Wednesday night in Abuja, dismissed the claim as
ridiculous.
The statement read: “The claim
that the Buhari administration invited the wanted Abdulrasheed Maina back into
country is a freshly minted falsehood. Nobody should believe that.
“The family that made that claim
simply wanted to be ridiculous. Please ignore them.’’
Recall that Nigerian Eye previously
reported that the family of Abdulrasheed Maina said that President Muhammadu
Buhari's administration begged the embattled former pension boss to join the
change agenda, with the assurance of security protection.
The family during a press
conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, October 25, accused a 'cabal' in Aso Rock of
being behind the travails of their son.
The presidential aide, had also on
Tuesday, issued a disclaimer on a group-photograph of President Buhari, Senate
President Bukola Saraki and a member of the House of Representatives, Ado
Doguwa, being circulated in the social media in which Doguwa, was mistaken to
be Abdulrasheed Maina.
Shehu said: “There is a photograph
all over the Social Media of President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President
Bukola Saraki and Hon. Ado Garba Doguwa Alhassan being mistaken to be the
embattled ex-chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms,
Abdulrasheed Maina.
“Doguwa is the Chief Whip of the
House of Representatives, representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency
of Kano State.
“Doguwa represented the Speaker
of the House of Representatives at the special Jummat prayers to mark the
nation’s 57th year anniversary at the Presidential Villa weeks ago.
“The Speaker could not attend the
event because he is a Christian. Please be guided!’’
Maina was appointed by former
President Goodluck Jonathan as Chairman of the task force in 2010 to check the
corruption in the country’s pension system.
In 2012, the Nigeria Police
accused him of misappropriating N100 billion pension funds in connivance with
others.
The Civil Service Commission
reportedly dismissed him for “absconding from duty’’.
Maina was arraigned in absentia
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which declared him
wanted in 2015.
Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesman
of the anti-graft agency in a statement recently, said Maina remained on the
commission’s wanted list.
@Garba Shehu, lets for once assume that you are right, the question then is, who gave him the DSS protection for months that he has been in the country? or is the DSS not an agency/parastatal under the presidency?
ReplyDeleteOga presidency, then sack all the heads of the departments and agencies who aided Maina's return, reappointment and promotion
ReplyDeleteThis Maina affair is a very messy one and it is already denting - more than any other scandal - the anti-corruption image of this Administration. All it is saying is that the monster called corruption is deeply entrenched in the APC administration and Mr. President should overhaul the Presidency as a matter of urgency! Sack everybody that is even remotely involved and begin to salvage the reputation of this government.
ReplyDeletemallam garba shehu if family members said that their father or brother said this and your saying no that they are lying , we Nigerians will take your statement as hate speech,
ReplyDeleteMaina made some revelations to berekete family. I think his revelations should thoroughly be investigated. For example he claimed that N300 millions is stolen every morning as police pension which he stopped it etc
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