19th December, 2012
The Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Wednesday failed to appear before the Senate Joint Committee investigating pension administration in the country.
The Joint Committee on Establishment, Public Service and Local Government Administration was mandated by the Senate to investigate pension administration beginning from 1999.
Maina had consistently refused to honour several invitations by the committee to appear and explain his role or otherwise in the alleged N195 billion pension fraud.
The resumed sitting of the committee was delayed for over one hour while the inspector-general failed to produce Maina before it.
Also absent at Wednesday’s sitting were the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, and the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Yerima Ngama,
Others absentees were former Heads of Service of the Federation (HOSFs), Steve Oronsaye and Oladapo Afolabi and a former Director of Pension in the HOSF, Dr Shuaibu Teidi.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Aloysius Etok, acknowledged the presence of all the agencies under the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Office (CIPPO).
Etok, however, condemned the attitude of Maina for repeatedly refusing to take advantage of the opportunities given to him to defend himself before the public.
“We’ve kept these people waiting for one hour and incidentally, the inspector-general of police is not here.
“The senate under the hand of the senate president issued a warrant of arrest and directed the IG to present and compel Maina to appear before this committee by 12 o’clock on the dot.
“We’ve been waiting here and this is one hour, 10 minutes and we have not seen Maina. I’ve seen how untiring you have been attending these sittings.
“We will never issue any invitation to you again until we are done with this matter; this sitting is hereby adjourned indefinitely, ” Etok announced.
At this juncture, the Co-chairman, Senator Kabiru Gaya, informed the gathering that while they were waiting for Maina to appear before it, he was addressing a group at the National Assembly gate.
“I have just been briefed by the police that Maina is at the gate addressing his supporters instead of coming here.
“We wanted him to be here by 12 but he is not here. So the committee will know what to do.
“Nigerians are watching and we are open and sincere. We wanted this on record. God knows we have tried, ‘’ Gaya said.