INTERPOL, court issue fresh warrants for Maina’s arrest

The Presidency on Thursday said an Abuja Magistrate’s  Court as well as the international police popularly called the INTERPOL had issued fresh warrants for the arrest of the embattled former Chairman of the defunct Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent.
Shehu said Maina’s investigation had been extended beyond his reinstatement and subsequent posting.
He said the investigation would even be extended to some foreign countries.
The presidential spokesman said, “Maina’s investigation has been expanded. This is beyond reinstatement. It has gone beyond that.
“You know that the INTERPOL has just issued an international warrant on him. A Nigerian court has also issued yet another warrant of arrest.
“All those cases involving Steve Oronsaye (former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation) that are ongoing, you know Maina is also involved. Law enforcement agencies are looking at that too.
“You are also aware that the Senate is also carrying out its own investigation on the matter.
“The matter is being investigated from all fronts. The EFCC, for example,  is discovering more and more properties and its officials are sealing them. They are also looking at banks and all that.
“In fact, this investigation will also touch some foreign countries.”
Shehu said the security agencies, including the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), were making presentations to the President on the matter.
He, however, said the President had yet to say the final word on the matter because he wanted to be fair to all the reports.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has received a third report on Maina.
Our correspondent learnt that the third report was prepared by the Acting Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission.
The report was said to have been submitted to the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
The two reports that have earlier been submitted on the matter were those of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita; and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior.
It was learnt that while Kyari himself wrote the Acting chairman of the FCSC, Oyo-Ita queried the Permanent Secretary on the matter.
Oyo-Ita, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said she submitted her report alongside the one prepared by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior to Kyari while the Acting FCSC boss submitted directly to the Chief of Staff.
She insisted that the letter reinstating Maina emanated from the FCSC and not from her.
She said, “The Chief of Staff to the President wrote directly to the Acting chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission because it was the commission that sent out the letter.
“That letter people are saying was from the Office of the Head of Service did not come from me; it came from the Federal Civil Service Commission.
“The only persons that responded directly to me is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior.
“I have sent my submission and the response from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior to the Chief of Staff.”
When asked what was the update from the Presidency on the matter, Oyo-Ita directed our correspondent to the presidential spokesmen.
“I am not the right person to ask if there is any update on it. It is the presidential spokesmen that will know if there is any update,” she said.
|Punch