Maina Gate: AGF Malami Opens Can Of Worms

* How ex-President collected N5b monthly from pension
fund

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami may have succeeded in convincing the Senate ad-hoc
committee probing the return and reinstatement of fugitive former
Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina about the
good intentions of his involvement in the saga following shocking
revelations he made before the panel, which has been sitting in
camera for obvious reasons.

The Senate had on October 24 mandated its committees on
Establishment, Interior, Anti-corruption and Judiciary to
investigate how the ex-pension boss was reinstated and promoted at
the Ministry of Interior. The Senate panel is conducting its probe
in camera with a promise to brief the media at the end of its
investigation.

Multiple sources within the panel however told Saturday Sun that
Malami has confessed that indeed Maina approached him for a meeting
when he was in Abu Dhabi as part of the entourage of President
Muhammadu Buhari’s official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
in January last year but before granting him audience, he sought
security clearance from the Director General of the Department of
State Security, DSS, Lawal Musa Daura who gave him the nod on the
condition that the Minister must attend the meeting along with a
witness.

The President was also accompanied on that trip by the National
Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno; Ministers of Finance, Kemi
Adeosun; Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Trade and Investment,
Okechukwu Enelamah; Environment, Aisha Mohammed, now deputy
Secretary General at the UN; State Minister Petroleum, Ibe Kachukwu
and that of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

According to one of the Senators, “the AGF Malami was, to me,
very blunt and sincere but because of the sensitive nature of the
revelations he made, we could not allow him say those things raw in
the full glare of camera and pressmen. For instance, he told us how
Maina exposed a former President who was taking N5 billion monthly
from the pension fund during their meeting in Abu Dhabi.”

A further investigation of this claim from another member of the
committee revealed more information. It was learnt that at the Abu
Dhabi meeting, Maina, who was bitter about the way he was treated
by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan,
decided to spill the beans on some of the dirty deals carried over
into Buhari government by officials of the previous
administration.

“We were told how Maina gave information about loopholes through
which a former President was collecting N5 billion monthly from the
pension fund while other officials were equally busy taking away
billions every month. We were also told how at the peak of the
bazaar, Maina was invited to the presidential villa and in the
night when he was leaving the villa, his vehicle was sprayed with
bullets with a view to kill him and block any trace of the stolen
billions but he was able to survive that because he drove a bullet
proof car on the fateful day. We learnt the vehicle is still within
the villa premises as we speak”, the second Senator disclosed. A
third Senator who is also a member of the committee agreed with the
claims of the other two when confronted with Malami’s revelations.
He however said the sensitive information given by Maina to enable
the then new Buhari government block leakages, was not enough
ground to dress him in the garment of a saint.

“I agree on what the others told you but that doesn’t make Maina
a saint because he was an active accomplice when the looting was
going on, despite being appointed to block the same leakages. That
he was squealing when the party was over doesn’t exonerate
him.”

He said Malami told them how the Federal Government was able to
make use of the information given them at the Abu Dhabi meeting to
save about N1.3trillion from going into private pockets. “I think
majority of the members of the committee know better now after the
closed-door meeting with the Minister because many of us were
shocked hearing the things he was telling us. That is why the
executive needs to carry the legislature along in some sensitive
issues like this to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding”, another
member of the committee told Saturday Sun in Abuja on Friday.

Malami also admitted before the panel that he wrote three
letters to the Federal Civil Service Commission (FRSC) on the
sacked chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team. Maina was in 2015
accused of over N2billion pension fraud and declared wanted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC enlisted the International Police (INTERPOL) to arrest
him

But he dramatically showed up in the country and was last month
reinstated as acting director in the Ministry of Interior. An
embarrassed President Buhari ordered Maina’s immediate sack and a
probe of how he was brought back. The EFCC stepped up its
investigation. But Maina has not been seen since then, fuelling
speculations he must have escaped from the country again. Maina has
however consistently maintained his innocence even though he has
refused to surrender himself for proper questioning and likely
prosecution in the law court.

Culled: Sun

* How ex-President collected N5b monthly from pension
fund

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami may have succeeded in convincing the Senate ad-hoc
committee probing the return and reinstatement of fugitive former
Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina about the
good intentions of his involvement in the saga following shocking
revelations he made before the panel, which has been sitting in
camera for obvious reasons.

The Senate had on October 24 mandated its committees on
Establishment, Interior, Anti-corruption and Judiciary to
investigate how the ex-pension boss was reinstated and promoted at
the Ministry of Interior. The Senate panel is conducting its probe
in camera with a promise to brief the media at the end of its
investigation.

Multiple sources within the panel however told Saturday Sun that
Malami has confessed that indeed Maina approached him for a meeting
when he was in Abu Dhabi as part of the entourage of President
Muhammadu Buhari’s official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
in January last year but before granting him audience, he sought
security clearance from the Director General of the Department of
State Security, DSS, Lawal Musa Daura who gave him the nod on the
condition that the Minister must attend the meeting along with a
witness.

The President was also accompanied on that trip by the National
Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno; Ministers of Finance, Kemi
Adeosun; Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Trade and Investment,
Okechukwu Enelamah; Environment, Aisha Mohammed, now deputy
Secretary General at the UN; State Minister Petroleum, Ibe Kachukwu
and that of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

According to one of the Senators, “the AGF Malami was, to me,
very blunt and sincere but because of the sensitive nature of the
revelations he made, we could not allow him say those things raw in
the full glare of camera and pressmen. For instance, he told us how
Maina exposed a former President who was taking N5 billion monthly
from the pension fund during their meeting in Abu Dhabi.”

A further investigation of this claim from another member of the
committee revealed more information. It was learnt that at the Abu
Dhabi meeting, Maina, who was bitter about the way he was treated
by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan,
decided to spill the beans on some of the dirty deals carried over
into Buhari government by officials of the previous
administration.

“We were told how Maina gave information about loopholes through
which a former President was collecting N5 billion monthly from the
pension fund while other officials were equally busy taking away
billions every month. We were also told how at the peak of the
bazaar, Maina was invited to the presidential villa and in the
night when he was leaving the villa, his vehicle was sprayed with
bullets with a view to kill him and block any trace of the stolen
billions but he was able to survive that because he drove a bullet
proof car on the fateful day. We learnt the vehicle is still within
the villa premises as we speak”, the second Senator disclosed. A
third Senator who is also a member of the committee agreed with the
claims of the other two when confronted with Malami’s revelations.
He however said the sensitive information given by Maina to enable
the then new Buhari government block leakages, was not enough
ground to dress him in the garment of a saint.

“I agree on what the others told you but that doesn’t make Maina
a saint because he was an active accomplice when the looting was
going on, despite being appointed to block the same leakages. That
he was squealing when the party was over doesn’t exonerate
him.”

He said Malami told them how the Federal Government was able to
make use of the information given them at the Abu Dhabi meeting to
save about N1.3trillion from going into private pockets. “I think
majority of the members of the committee know better now after the
closed-door meeting with the Minister because many of us were
shocked hearing the things he was telling us. That is why the
executive needs to carry the legislature along in some sensitive
issues like this to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding”, another
member of the committee told Saturday Sun in Abuja on Friday.

Malami also admitted before the panel that he wrote three
letters to the Federal Civil Service Commission (FRSC) on the
sacked chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team. Maina was in 2015
accused of over N2billion pension fraud and declared wanted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC enlisted the International Police (INTERPOL) to arrest
him

But he dramatically showed up in the country and was last month
reinstated as acting director in the Ministry of Interior. An
embarrassed President Buhari ordered Maina’s immediate sack and a
probe of how he was brought back. The EFCC stepped up its
investigation. But Maina has not been seen since then, fuelling
speculations he must have escaped from the country again. Maina has
however consistently maintained his innocence even though he has
refused to surrender himself for proper questioning and likely
prosecution in the law court.

Culled: Sun