President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the immediate disengagement from service of Mr. Abdullahi Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the president’s media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina, a memo to that effect that Buhari has fired Maina was issued by the president to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The president equally demanded a full report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior.
The report is to be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, before the end of work on Monday.
Before Buhari fired Maina, controversy had trailed the recall of Maina to fill a vacancy created following the retirement of the Director heading the Human Resources Department in the Ministry.
The curiosity arose from the fact that Maina who was the chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Matters was declared wanted in 2015 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was alleged to have had a hand in the fraudulent biometric contracts through which he, Steve Oronsaye, former head of service, and two others allegedly stole over N2billion of pension funds.
The EFCC had at the time, secured an arrest warrant which would enable the arrest of Maina “wherever he is in the world.”
The International Police was also involved in the search for Maina.
Only last week, Maina was recently recalled and promoted to head a directorate in the Interior ministry despite the pending case of graft against him.
The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, had washed his hands clean of the recall.
In a statement issued on the issue, Dambazau said the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission should be held responsible.
Maina, according to him, “was posted few days ago to the Ministry of Interior by the Office of the Head of Service on an Acting capacity to fill a vacancy created following the retirement of the Director heading the Human Resources Department in the Ministry.”
Dambazau explained further that “issues relating to Discipline, Employment, Re-engagement, Posting, Promotion and Retirements of Federal Civil Servants.”
The minister’s explanations came against the backdrop that Maina was recalled despite the case of graft hanging on his neck.
