Former Senate President, David Mark has revealed that the Senate threatened former President Goodluck Jonathan before he sacked the embattled former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina in 2013.
Mark disclosed that the Senate opted to threaten Jonathan into sacking Maina because the former Pension boss ignored several summons to appear before a Senate committee investigating allegations of his mismanagement of pension funds as chairman.
This was contained in a book, “Against the Run of Play,” written by the Chairman of the Editorial Board of ThisDay Newspaper, Olusegun Adeniyi.
Mark said the Senate took the step because Maina, “is a very loud fellow who talks too much.
“He was all over the place, boasting about his connection to the Presidential Villa and kept on bluffing the Senate.
“To compound the issue, he was indeed seen driving in and out of Aso Rock in a convoy of vehicles with police escort. It was at a point when I couldn’t take the nonsense any longer that I decided on the letter to the President.”
The book quoted the then Senate President as saying on February 13, 2013 the Senate gave Jonathan a two-day ultimatum to sack Maina from the civil service.
The ultimatum was sequel to a motion titled: “Dismissal of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina for refusal to appear before the Senate”, sponsored by the former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, and 107 senators.
Following the adoption of the motion, Mark said the Senate as an institution had been pushed to the wall and could no longer tolerate the insolence of public officials working for the executive.
Mark was quoted as saying, ”The Executive has to choose between the Senate and Maina. He has crucified himself. If Maina remains, then the Senate would react appropriately. The Senate is not lacking in ideas on what to do.
“Nobody in this country is bigger than our democracy. I have been extremely patient with Maina, so that when we react, they will know that we have been fair.”
Mark also disclosed that the Upper Legislative Chamber had ordered police to arrest Maina over his repeated refusal to honour the invitation and to prosecute him for allegedly stealing pension funds.
He said, “This Senate is not going to allow this to linger. If in two days they (the police) have not done anything, we can come here and convene and take a decision. This Senate will bite when it needs to bite, and when we decide to bite, there will be no room for escape.
“The reaction is the correct reaction; no matter the depth of the Maina situation, nobody in this country will be left to go free, if he is associated with Maina. No matter who is behind Maina, we are not going to accept it.”