The man in the eye of the storm, Abdulrasheed Maina has been alleged to have been paid N22m salary arrears upon his reinstatement into the federal civil service.
In a statement signed by the People’s Democratic Party spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye, in Abuja on Monday, corruption will consume the country under the current administration. According to him, Nigerians had expected Maina to be arrested not reinstated.
He said, “It is in the light of this that the PDP wishes to state that we are not too shocked at the steps taken by the administration of the All Progressives Congress in reinstating a supposed criminal and fugitive, Abdulrasheed Maina, to office instead of getting him arrested. Birds of a feather flock together.
“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 N100bn 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.”
He added, “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’s fighting corruption.”
Adeyeye also alleged that Maina had been paid N22m salary arrears by the Federal Government.
He said, “We are worried that the APC administration seems 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.
“It is reported that the fugitive has been rewarded with payment of bogus salary arrears amounting to N22m, which he has reportedly collected upon approval and released by the Accountant General of the Federation. We dare the government of the day to deny this with verifiable evidence.”
The party equally demanded the immediate sacking of the Minister of Interior and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice for complicity in Maina’s journey back into the system.