From ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, Kaduna
Less than 24 hours after the Senate asked President Goodluck Jonathan to fire the embattled Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Dr. Abdulrasheed Maina, the embattled Maina, spoke from his hiding yesterday, alleging that the pension cabal was after his life and not just his sack.
Before reaching Maina on phone yesterday, sources in his office had told Daily Sun that the task team boss hadmaintained a low profile, shortly after he was declared wanted by the police, on the instruction of the Senate.
One of the sources said: “If you recall, the last time he appeared at the Senate, security was provided for him. But as we speak, all the guards have been completely withdrawn and the seeming involvement of the Senate and the police in the alleged plot to get at him at all cost, is a further indication that it will be suicidal for him to show up or even appear in the public for whatever reasons.
And it has further shown that the cabal after him has infiltrated the police and the Senate. “But here is a man, through whose effort, over N200 billion was recovered and saved for the country, among many other achievements. The records are there for all to see,” the source added.
Daily Sun also gathered that most of the staff members of the office had since taken cover, following reports that the police might arrest all of them, since it had been unable to arrest Maina. Speaking from his hiding yesterday, embattled Maina told Daily Sun that “I am fast losing confidence in the country called Nigeria.
Imagine, I have suddenly become a villain for saving the country billions of naira, being stolen daily by pension thieves. “I’m saddened, demoralised by the whole mess. It is baffling that the hunter has become the hunted. It is simply ridiculous. How can one continue to fight for the country and the poor pensioners, when the system is so rotten to the effect that the thief catcher is being branded as the thief ?
“Already, I have gone to court to redeem my name, save my team, with a view to go further to expose the big names behind the cabal. But with what I have seen so far, I doubt if Nigeria is worth dying for,” Maina added.
Armed robbers in public service.
He should be arrested and jialed for contempt.
Deja Vu!!!!
Why didn‘t you appear before the senate before now. Tell the world how they are after your life. Because l see this as a baseless allegation. Instead of this man to say that he can not remember how the money was shared. Look at a police officer who works from sunday to sunday without rest or additional allowance, when others are celebrating he ‘ll be on duty for 35 years phehaps he manage to feed and when he retires you maina steal his entitlement for 35 years his sweat, his blood, his tears and you think God is not seeing you. And all you have to say now is that they are after your life, who are they that is after your life? It is the blood of those you steal their sweat that is after your life.
What happened to the Judge that recently released the pension thief after payment of paltry sum of 750,000 Naira for the loss of over 20Billion Naira? While one is not defending the chairman of the Taskforce Team – Maina (since one does not have all required information to take a categorical position on his current travail), the impression the senate is giving out from thier action against Maina while leaving out the ridiculouse way the pension thieves exposed by Maina’s team are being handled suggest a witch-hunt and a fight back by the thieves. It will be gravely unfortunate for our society if indeed this perception is allowed to linger on without a more aggresive fight against the thieves and treasury looters. We should all pray for a Nigeria Jerry Rawling to come on stage very fast.
Nigeria is a comedy Nation. I live in in abroad but those who are after him are buying houses through proxy companies here in Asia countries. I beg Dr Maina to resign and leave the country if the Presidency cannot protect him. According to this report he appeared before them before. Now all the security attached to him have been withdrawn, if he go to the Senate who will protect him on the street?. When the Senate president ran away after Late General Abacha sacked all the 17 IBB boys in 1993. The current senate president was having the best golf course in the Republic of Ireland. May God save Nigeria amen
stop praying foolish people, foolish country. Pour out unto the street and let your voice be heard. That is democracy. Storm the senate and demand that the leadership explain why Maina is suddenly the vilain in this saga. Was billions of naira belonging to pensioneers no longer missing or stolen, have those fingered in the scam gone through the court and be discharged and acquitted, when did the work of this task force, become a legislative mandate or within the purview of the senate or the house, if not for the same corruption?. Nigerians must go to school to read and learn of their rights, high illiteracy level is the reason why nigerians see themselves as “ordinaire”- we must shake this off. Morons,. leave God out of this, you must stand up to defend and demand for your rights, because when the right of a single nigerian is taken away as is in Maina case, all of us are trouble because, before you know it, they will also come for you on trumped charges. David Mark must be able to understand a govt in a civil and democratic rule and have the ability to also differenciate that from millitary rule. Where are the so called nigerian students anyway…the supposed watch dog of this society. Does this level of inhumanity in this soceity touch off anything anymore in our individual consiences?. Haba! what a country, what a president, and what a senate. This must be the lowest ebb for this country.
Which Nigerian students? What do you want them to do? Did they jointly stole the monies with Maina? Pls, if maina had gone to the senate as at the time he was asked to go, no warrant of arrest would have been issued against him in the first place. Stop talking for him, let him go and clear his name if he knows his hands are clean as he wants us to believed. We should stop sympathising with these criminals. The blood of those police pensioners he stole their monies will hunt him until he pays every dime.
Maina go and tell the senate how much you stole from the money you recovered from your fellow thieves and those that are your accomplices.You can run and hide but not for too long especially now that mr president is trying to leave you in the cold due to threats from the senate.Nobody is after your life but you.
If this man called Maina knows that he is so innocent of all these pension corruption under his suppervision, he should come out and requested for security protection , table his own side of the story in the presence of senate and named all cabal he is talking about here. Otherwise, Nigerians will still see him as a run away thief and should be treated so.
Jahili or whatever u call yourself, i think a little education will do. It is in line with the oversight functions of the Senate as enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria that the Senate acted. Instead of making unguided statements which to me could be out of mischieve, tribalism or your ignorance, you should advice the ‘COW’ called Maina to come forward and answer to serious issues of corruption levelled against him. It is high time poeple should stop whipping up ethnic sentiments on issues of corruption. My submission is that Maina is a THIEF and there are so many other Maina’s in our Civil Service today
Save us these false alarms and come out and explain to Nigerians and pensioners what you know about their money which they are accusing you of cornering for yourself and your team. It is not today we started hearing criminals and thieves raising false alarm of threat to their lives when they are called upon to give account of their acts(criminal). So we are not moved by all you are saying. As long as you remain in hiding and refuse to come and expose the pension cabal you claimed are after your life; wrong or right, we will continue to believe all allegations against you and hold them as true.
If ur innocent come out and stop hiding.
LOOK AT THAT STATEMENT “I’m saddened, demoralised by the whole mess. It is baffling that the hunter has become the hunted WHO’S HUNTER AND WHO’S BEING HUNTED IS IT NOT THE SAME NIGERIA WHERE YOU SURPRISELY POSE YOURSELF AS PART OF PRESIDENTIAL ENTOURAGE? IS IT NOT THE SAME NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WHERE YOU APPEARED BEFORE? IS IT NOT THE SAME VENUE WHERE YOU APPEARED AND ADDRESSED PRESS MEN BEFORE YOU DISAPPEARED? IT IS ONLY IN NIGERIA YOU WILL HEAR ASKING SOMEONE TO COME FORWARD AND EXPLAIN CERTAIN THINGS ABOUT WHAT HE OR SHE KNOWS ABOUT MISSING MONEY ALWAYS TURNS TO TREAT TO THEIR LIVES. IF I GOT MAINA’S POINT HE MEANS THE WILL SHOOT HIM DEAD INSIDE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WHENEVER HE MAKES HIMSELF AVAILABLE BEFORE THE SENATES OR WHAT? WHAT A SILLY EXCUSE
@jahlili,stop insulting ur fellow country men &God,should we pray to you or cease to pray bcs one of God’s creatures is in problem.We must continue to tell God to set the just free. We do not know whether this problem is man made or self inflicted.Maina had been called sevral x b4 this moment,even b4 the senate issued a warrant of arrest.Maina should have answered that call.We would n’t have been where we are now.That call is a call for clarifications on issues the senate might not understand.The wisiest man never refuses ‘let me ask u or let me tell u’.
Maina,come out frm ur hiding & defend ur self.look at how our money are being stolen by some of dis greedy policians.Nonsense
NONSENSE. YOU ARE QUICK TO TELL THE WORLD THAT THEY WANT YOU DEAD BUT FOR MONTHS YOU FAILED TO TELL THE WORLD YOUR SIDE OF THE LOOT. GO TO HELL. NIGERIANS ARE TIRED OF THESE BASELESS EXCUSES.
police pension OGA Hausa man carry #23billon,police pension taskfores Hausa man too now carry in own dey run now.naWaooo which time Hausa people go stop to milk dis country dry GOD save us.
i want to ask all these idiot what they do with money….how many years will these animals live on this earth for them to be packing all these amounts of money to do what with it….ignorance is a very bad disease !!!!
Keep it for Power. Ranka de de is like drugs to their ears. I have it they do not. Marry five wives and have Eighty Children.
Is Nigeria National Assembly a house of thieves or a House of Law making. The members should stop deceiving Nigerians, because under Checks and Balances, the Legislative arm of government suppose to be a watch dog to the executive arm. But what the House is doing is out of this practice.
Why are the House and police looking for Maina while they know where he is hiding and they know where the money is. Though Maina committed the crime, but they should leave him and recover this money first, since he cannot be prosecuted as they all pretend, but relevant authorities can recover this money in question wherever the money is, and it will be an evidence to jail him.
N469bn is the 20 percent of the total 2013 budget.
God punish you for blackmailing the Senate of The Federal Republic of Nigeria…The senate is not filled with canibals who eat human flesh. Go and give account of your stewardship.if you are that afraid of appearing before the senate,I’d give you an advice for you…demand for a live coverage of your appearance before the senate and clear yourself.Peace!
This issue of fraud,corruption,stealing and other vices in our nation is the product of bad leadership which the leaders themselves are enjoying. if the senate want to gradually stop corruption they should start by conducting L.ocal Govt Elections and not appointing the chairmen of the Local Govts.and to sever the accounts of the Local govts. and that of the state. SENATORS lets us start from there. But because most senators are dreaming of becoming Governors where money is stolen in billions they keep quiet so that they can enjoy the booty. Meanwhile all cases of fraud in Nig. are never solved.
Nigerians want to know Maina’s involvement in the pension scam before they draw conclusion whether the man is being victimized by cabals who have shared from the pension fund We refuse to accept stories . from both Senate and Maina until the whole truth is told.. IG to please provide security for Maina so that he may appear at senate sitting to answer questions about his role in the scam.
Maina, all these excuses will not absolve you of any wrong doing or misuse of public pension funds. It may be true that you uncovered fraudlent activities in Pensions office, but that is not enough justification for you not to honor Senate invitation.
As a public servant, you have a responsibilty to account for your actions if there is a need for it. You have been accused of misusing public pension funds, and that is why Senate wanted you to defend yourself and give account of your actions as the Chairman of Pensions Task Force.
Maina, honor the Senate invitation and account for all the funds under your custody. It is only in Nigeria that a civil servant will sue a legislative body to stall a public inquiry process .
He should be arrested and jailed for contempt
I urgent social media visitors to use this medium to make Nigerians understand issues affecting their well being in details instead of turn it to a tribalized royal rumble arena. I am an Edo man. My tribe, your tribe and our tribe has nothing to do with the issue at stake neither is religion. It has to do with our fundamentals, our upbringing, Psychology and formation. I may be quick add our culture – emulative culture. The Maina issue is not that of Hausa, Yoruba or Ibo. It is not an issue of North and South. It is an of a political culture – a culture of you chop, I chop. Have any of you looked at the preponderance of the PDP Governors or big wigs like Bode George & Co. being indicted for, fraud, stacking our money overseas and impoverishing millions of Nigerians they are made to serve? There are many other parties governors serving and retired, how many of them have the EFCC charged or accused of squandering our money compared the PDP’s? Or is it because they are afraid of the oppositions?. No. Those who fail to play ball, met the EFCC, period. Maina said he is fed up with Nigeria. He could flee to any Embassy and seek refuge and or file for protection of the United Nations if he means what he’s just said. But I bet you, no Country will grant asylum to any one who’s being accused of embezzlement of public fund and want to flee prosecution. President Mubarak of Egypt or Sadam Hussein of Libya could make it if it was possible This is not a human rights violation nor is it a persecution for a Country to consider Maina a refugee. The gospel truth is that Maina is refusing to play ball and the Senate knows his hands are not clean but refusing to give them share. I am afraid, if care is not taking, one or more Senators may end up a scape goat as Faruk Lawal, who refused to collect money on behalf of the House, and was subsequently set up for prosecution.
YOU PEOPLE SHOULD GIVE US THE WHOLE STORY OF HOW THE HUNTER SUDDENLY BECOME THE HUNTED
Clear conscience fears no accusation.
We nid shame in nigeria.
All these billions of naira what for ? How many plate of food do they eat in a day? How many houses do u sleep in per night? Remember you came to this earth empty handed and empty handed will you leave. Don’t stock ill gotten wealth that will set your house ablaze when you die. Maina come out and open let us know the cabal.
Pls Maina its just a simple truth that is needed from you by the senate, Who are this cabals and what is their role in the system? Simple no story pls.
come out, Maina come out
All those mallams that are telling this fool to lie will die like a pig that they are…Give us name of your so called cabal and what happen to the funds