Lagos lawyer Femi
Falana (SAN) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take action against
officials involved in the controversial recall of former Chairman of the
Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms Abdulrasheed Maina.
In a statement
issued on Sunday titled: “President Buhari should act with dispatch on
Mainagate”, the activist said “time is certainly not on the side of President
Buhari”.
Although the Federal
Government has promised not to sweep the Mainagate under the carpet, Falana
contended that the handling of the scandal generated by Maina’s recall has
eroded the credibility of the anti-corruption crusade of the Buhari
administration.
Falana’s advice was
sequel to a statement credited to Maina’s family, accusing Buhari
administration of official betrayal.
He
noted that at a news conference in Kaduna two weeks ago, the spokesman for the
Abdulrasheed Maina’s family,
Mr. Aliyu Maina, had stated that “Abdulrasheed was
in fact invited by this administration and he was promised security to come and
clean up the mess and generate more revenue to the government by blocking
leakages. He has been working with the DSS for quite some time and he was given
necessary security. So, one wonders why all the agencies and various
individuals responsible for his return are now denying”.
But
Falana contended that those who recalled Maina, “deliberately set out to
subvert the anti-corruption policy of the Buhari administration”.
He
argued that through such demonstration of impunity, the officials involved have
exposed the country to ridicule before the comity of nations.
“In
view of the revelation of the family, which has not been denied, it is crystal
clear that the highly placed officials of the Federal Government, who brought
Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina back to the country, gave him a clean bill of health,
provided him with “necessary security”, reinstated him, promoted him and paid
his arrears of salaries and allowances totalling N22 million deliberately set
out to subvert the anti-corruption policy of the Buhari administration,” the
senior lawyer said.
Falana
described the payment of N22 million to Maina as “the height of insensitivity
to pay arrears of salaries to a fugitive at a time when hundreds of thousands
of workers and pensioners are owed arrears of their legitimate emoluments”.
The
senior advocate queried: “Having found Maina and exonerated him, why was
Interpol not informed that he was no longer wanted to stand trial for his role
in the unprecedented pension fraud?
“Since
Mr. Maina’s ‘necessary security’ provided by the State Security Service has not
been withdrawn, why is the Federal Government requesting the Interpol to
declare him wanted again? Will Interpol believe that a man, who was provided
with ‘necessary security’ cannot be found by the Federal Government? Why is the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission asking Nigerians to assist in
searching for the fugitive?”
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