By Kehinde Osasona Abuja
Erstwhile Head of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, has begged to be heard to clear his name over allegations of corruption in the management of pension fund. He specifi cally pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari for an opportunity to “reveal the truth” on his activities as the helmsman of the task force.. Speaking on Channels Television yesterday, Maina, who has been in hiding since 2015 after his dismissal from service , expressed readiness to expose those involved in the pension fraud. Placed on wanted list by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Maina was secretly reinstated into the federal civil service and redeployed to the Ministry of Interior, , a development that caused some controversy within the system.
Th is decision was greeted with strong criticism, thus attracting the attention of the national assembly which is currently investigating what has become a saga. In his frst appearance after the furore, Mr. Maina boasted of recovering funds to the tune of trillions for the present and past administrations. Speaking on Channels, the embattled Maina said: “I recovered money for last administration and I recovered money for this administration. Now people don’t know this, let me explain this. “Thank God our President stands for the truth. Th e unfortunate thing is that some people, whom he has given trust are lying to him.
This one I can attest to and I can give you instances. I can give you documentary evidences. “We recovered as team N282 billion cash. Apart from N282 billion, we were able to bring information and caught 43 pension suspects. N1.6 trillion investment and properties were recovered,” he said. Pleading for an audience with President Buhari, he said: “Mr. President, if you really want to know the truth and you want to be fair to the whole nation, give opportunity for everybody to come and present. “Are you hearing, Mr. President? I’m appealing to you Mr. President.
There are so many things people are not telling you. When I get to that public hearing, I will tell some things that nobody ever told you. “I will give you information and documents that will fetch you over N3 trillion. If I don’t do it, Mr. President, give me 9 months, within the first 3 months, I will ‘show’ you N1 trillion.”
