N195bn Pension Funds: I Was Never Served Warrant Of Arrest - Maina

The Chairman of Pension Reform Task Force Team (PRTT), Dr. Abdulrasheed Maina said, yesterday, that he was not served warrant of arrest purportedly issued by the Senate Joint Committee on Establishments, Public Service, States and Local Government Pension. He also challenged the committee investigating alleged fraud in the pension sub-sector to prove allegations of criminal intent in the unspent N195billion.

Dr. Maina who was indicted by the Senator Aloysius Etok-led Committee, maintained that the claims were fraudulent because he was nowhere close to the corridors of the task team during the period under review (2005 and 2009).

He reiterated that the Pension Task Team was barely two years old and could not be held accountable for a fraud perpetrated five years before it came into existence. This was even as he insisted that to the best of his knowledge, no kobo was missing in PRTT.

“It is a known fact that when you are fighting corruption, corruption will fight back, but take it, Maina will not give room for pension fraudulent activities. Looters will not go scout free, no matter how highly placed,” he assured.

The PRTT boss said, “As far as we are concerned no kobo is missing in the Pension Task Team and every pension office has jurisdiction, so if billions are missing in military pensions let them invite them and if it is in the head of service, same should be done to those who handled it then, not the PRTT.

“We have caused the arrest of several suspects which have been paraded and shown on television and are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). We have also caused the seizure of over 200 properties which EFCC is also investigating. We have also been able to move over 73,000 fake pensioners from the payroll. We have also been able to bring back genuine pensioners who were deprived their due for over 35yrs.”

Maina who reminded Nigerians that his team was inaugurated in 2010 explained that the PRTT under the President’s close supervision has recovered N221billion part of which was injected into the 2012 budget.


source: Leadership