FG: Minister of Interior explains why wanted ex-pension boss, Maina Abdulrasheed, who allegedly bought an Abuja house for $2m cash was reinstated

The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, has released a statement explaining why former pension boss, Abdulrasheed Maina, who had been declared wanted by the EFCC and INTERPOL for committing $2.1 billion fraud while in office in 2013, was recently reinstated and even promoted. Maina was dismissed in 2015 and has been on the EFCC and INTERPOL's watchlist after evading arrest by the agencies several times. He reportedly bought an apartment in Abuja for $2 million. Read the statement by Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, the Minister of Interior's spokesperson below...

“The publication, which queries the reinstatement of former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, reportedly claimed that the Interior Minister was one of those behind the said reinstatement. It is observed that some insinuations as it concerns the Interior Minister were presented as facts, hence the compelling need to proffer some clarifications for reference purposes. The ex- Chairman of the Presidential Task Force Team on Pension Reforms Abdulrasheed Maina was posted few days ago to the Ministry of Interior by the Office of the Head of Service in an Acting capacity to fill a vacancy created following the retirement of the Director heading the Human Resources Department in the Ministry. For the avoidance of doubt, issues relating to discipline, employment, re-engagement, posting, promotion and retirements of Federal Civil Servants are the responsibility of the Federal Civil Service Commission and Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, of which no Minister exercises such powers as erroneously expressed in this publication. It is understood that Maina’s last posting was with the Ministry of Interior, and that is probably why he was re-posted back to the Ministry. It is therefore improper for anybody to think that a Minister could exercise such powers or influence the process of Discipline, Re-engagement, and Deployment of any civil servant to his Ministry or any other Ministry for that matter. Again such responsibility is that of the Federal Civil Service Commission and/or the Head of Civil Service. In any case, the relevant institutions of government are alive to their responsibilities regarding the allegations confronting Mr. Maina.”