The presidency has in a statement said government officials loyal to former president Goodluck Jonathan may be responsible for the reinstatement of wanted pension boss Abdulrasheed Maina.
Maina who has been declared wanted by the EFCC since 2013 was reinstated and promoted to the position of Director in the Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Interior.
Recall that Maina was reportedly dismissed by the Jonathan-administration for allegedly absconding from duty and attempting to evade arrest.
It was also reported that the reinstatement of the wanted former pension boss was signed off by the Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.
However, in a statement released by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, he said the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had no moral right to level accusations against the current administration.
According to Daily Trust, Shehu described Maina as one of “the monsters created by the former PDP government, who are still rearing their ugly heads long after the Party was soundly defeated in the 2015 elections.” He said:
“Some influential officials loyal to the previous government may have been the invisible hand in the latest scandal that saw the return of Maina to the public service, despite being on the EFCC’s wanted list.
Over and over again, the President Buhari government has pointed out that the administration’s greatest problem is the mess left behind by the previous government. Maina is just one more example.”
Shehu said top officials of the PDP benefited from Maina’s corrupt practices, and described him as “a man warmly ensconced in the bosom of power.” He said:
“Top officials in the PDP government, from sectoral heads, to those charged with responsibility for law and order received some of these billions of naira from Maina.
We have all the transaction records and these are matters that the EFCC has been pursuing to ensure that they all have their day in court.”
He added that President Buhari will get to “the bottom of the matter of the impunity that led to Maina’s reinstatement.”
