By Bologi M. Maikudi.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the return of the embattled former head of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, to public reckoning, describing it as a classical case ”of honor among theives.”
PDP said in a statement by its spokesman, Dayo Adeneye, that President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, (APC) have to take responsibility for the mess generated by the controversial return and promotion of Maina, who is under investigation and declared wanted for alleged diversion of about 100 billion naira pension funds.
President Muhammadu Buhari had reacted to nationwide outrage on Monday and directed the immediate dismissal of Maina.
“All people of good conscience will not forget in a hurry that Maina, who was given an assignment by the last administration of the PDP 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, the 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 the Buhari Administration,”
“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,” the PDP stated.
The party called for the arrest and prosecution of Maina and ”other criminals like him.”
“While we are growing fatigued shouting ourselves hoarse in protest against nepotism, a clear form of corruption under this administration which has been elevated to state craft, we are appalled that the reinforcement of financial corruption by this government might soon lead to the demise of this nation if the Celestial does not intervene
“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.
“The PDP wish Nigerians can demand from the 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 the Government of the Federation, SGF Babachir Lawal and the Director-General of the 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, Ibe Kachikwu on the illegal award of contracts running to over $25 billion by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) who has told the world that he has 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, ask that the right thing be done,” the statement read in part.
