Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, has said that the return of the embattled former head of
the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina to public
reckoning is a classical case "of honor among theives.”
The
opposition party said ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, could not absolve
itself from the mess generated by the controversial return and promotion of
the civil servant, who is under investigation for alleged diversion of billions
of pension funds.
The
party which said this in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Mr
Dayo Adeyeye, Monday condemned the action.
President
Muhammadu Buhari on Monday directed the immediate dismissal of Maina, who absconded
after being declared wanted for corruption, but was recently reinstated to a
higher post.
But
PDP appears not to be impressed.
“Birds
of a feather flocks together. The party condemns this action of reinstating a
supposed criminal and fugitive, Abdulrasheed Maina to office instead of getting
himarrested.
“All
people of good conscience will not forget in a hurry that Maina, who was given
an assignment by the last PDP administration to superintend the now
defunct Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, dipped his hands into the
jar and helped himself to N100 billion of what he was supposed to safeguard.
“With
good conscience at fighting corruption, PDP government then mandated the
anti-corruption agencies to perform their constitutional duty. Maina
fled, only to resurface in the country four months ago under Buhari Administration,”
the party said.
“As
a party of good conscience, we wish to condemn in strongest terms, the penchant
of the administration of President Buhari to giving safe haven to
known criminals while hoodwinking Nigerians that it is fighting corruption,” it
added.
It
called for the arrest and persecution of Maina and ”other criminals like him.”
“We
are worried that the APC Administration seem to have grown thick
skins to constructive criticism; otherwise, no sane government, in spite of the open condemnation
the party has received from Nigerians over its shielding of criminals, will
repeat another one as done in the case of Maina.
“PDP
wishes Nigerians could demand from APC government, the civil service rule it
relied upon in promoting a wanted criminal who had abandoned his duty
post as an Assistant Director, to the position of a Director with all benefits attached.”
It
asked President Buhari to act with dispatch on other corruption allegations
against members of his government.
“Nigerians
have not forgotten in a hurry how the so called corruption fighting Government
of President Buhari refused to allow the law take its course in the graft
allegations involving suspended Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF
Babachir Lawal and the Director-General of Nigeria Intelligence Agency, NIA,
Ayo Oke.
“The
Government seems to have also buried without shame, the expose by the Minister
of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Ibe Kachikwu on the illegal award of
contracts running to over $25 billion by Group Managing Director (GMD) of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) who has told the World that he
had the Support of President Buhari in carrying out the heist.
“Though
we know that the APC is like a dead horse immune to any positive prompting; we
however, will not do, but ask that the right thing be done.”
Source: reubenabati.com
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