I remain Chairman of Presidential
Panel — OBLA …Malami, Dambazau face Senate Committee this week AS the
controversy surrounding the recall of wanted ex-chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina rages, the Presidency has directed Chairman of the Presidential Special Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, to hands off activities of the panel.
controversy surrounding the recall of wanted ex-chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina rages, the Presidency has directed Chairman of the Presidential Special Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, to hands off activities of the panel.
Malami, Maina and Obono-Obla The
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami,
SAN, in a statement, yesterday, said recent actions of Obono-Obla who is
equally an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution, ran contrary to
the enabling act that established the panel.
Consequently, the AGF directed
Obono-Obla to “henceforth desist from carrying out any operation in his
capacity as head of the panel.” Obono-Obla was notified of the order to hands
off the panel via a letter dated November 1, 2017, with file number
HAGF/SH/2017/VOL/1/60, which was signed by the AGF.
In the letter, Malami maintained
that activities of the panel contravened established administrative procedures
and protocols in the nation’s civil service structure. He warned Obono-Obla to
strictly comply with FG’s directive that he should hands-off from further
presiding over any activity in the name of the panel. Obono-Obla was barred
from further granting press interviews without first securing permission to
speak on any official matter.
“Obla is also instructed to
henceforth seek clearance from the AGF before granting any media interview or
making press releases on official matters, while he is directed to promptly
provide a detailed up-to-date report on the activities of the panel to the
Minister for onward transmission to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,’’
the AGF said.
Malami’s letter, follow-up to V-P’s
Malami’s letter, titled ‘’RE: Directive In Respect of Chief Okoi Obono-Obla,
Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel on the recovery of public
property’, was said to be a follow-up to a previous letter from the Vice
President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. The letter read: “I have received a letter
Ref. SH/OVP/DCOS/FMJ/0424 dated 20thOctober, 2017 in respect of the above
subject from the Office of the Vice President.
“In the said letter, the Vice
President expressed his concerns on the activities of the Special Investigation
Panel on the Recovery of Public Property which runs contrary to the enabling
Act establishing it. He also noted that the activities of the Panel run foul or
contrary to established administrative procedures and protocols in the Federal
Civil Service structure.
“In view of the foregoing, coupled
with the directives contained in the letter under reference, you are hereby
directed to refrain from any further action or taking any step in your capacity
as the Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public
Property with immediate effect until directed otherwise by His Excellency, the
Vice President. “While you are to await further instructions in respect of the Panel’s
mandate, you are hereby directed to promptly provide a detailed up-to-date
report on the activities of the Panel to the undersigned for onward
transmission to the Vice President.
“Furthermore, you are required to
henceforth seek clearance from the Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice before granting any media interview or making press
releases on official matters. “While appealing for immediate and strict
compliance with the contents of this letter, please, accept the assurances of
my warm regards and best wishes.”
Meanwhile, a Presidency source, who
is familiar with the matter, told Vanguard that Buhari was unhappy with the
utterances of Obono-Obla over the recall and sacking of Maina. According to the
source, who spoke in confidence, the strident attempts by the SSA to defend the
secret recall of Maina after he had been sacked the second time by Buhari was
seen as an affront on the action of the President and an action unbecoming of
an aide.
It was learned that the Vice President,
whose office was instrumental to bringing Obono-Obla into the special
presidential panel, also felt uncomfortable with his comments and decided to
move against him. “When the President’s attention was drawn to the
pronouncements of Obono-Obla, the Vice President, who was instrumental to his
appointment, was asked to take appropriate steps to deal with the situation,” a
competent source said last night. Asked if Obono-Obla would still retain his
post as the Senior Special Assistant on Prosecution to the President, the
source said it was unclear whether the aide had been suspended from both posts.
Obono-Obla fights back, says he remains chairman of Presidential panel
Meanwhile, Okoi Obono-Obla, yesterday, fought back, claiming that he had not
been removed from his post and asked the public to disregard his purported
sack.
In a statement by his Assistant
Director of Press, Lucieann Laha, Obla dismissed as untrue, the claim that he
had been removed as the chairman of the Presidential Special Panel on Recovery
of Public Property. The statement said: “The attention of the Special
Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has been
drawn to a purported news in the media that the Chairman of the Panel, Chief
Okoi Obono-Obla has been removed.
“While there is a letter from the
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, based on a
purported letter from the Office of the Vice President to the Attorney-General
of the Federation and Minister for Justice drawing attention to certain
procedural issues, and which an appropriate response is being prepared, there
is no iota of truth in the purported removal of the Chairman of the Panel. “For
the avoidance of doubt, there is no such directive from the Presidency to the
Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of
Public Property relieving him of his office and the information purportedly
removing the Chairman should be disregarded.”
What Obono- Obla said about Maina’s
recall, sack It will be recalled that after the sacking of Maina two weeks ago,
Obono-Obla had repeatedly asked whether there was any criminal court
pronouncement against Maina to prevent him from being brought back to his
former post. In a recent interview, Obono-Obla was asked whether it was right
for Maina to be reinstated before the President fired him two weeks ago. His
response: “I asked them, has he (Maina) been convicted by a court of competent
jurisdiction? ‘’I am talking as a lawyer and I don’t want to be emotional and
sentimental because Nigerians are very emotional and sentimental. As a lawyer,
I was trained not to be emotional and not to be sentimental when I am
discussing law or involved in a legal argument.
If Maina had been convicted, I want
to see the certified true copy of the judgment of the court that sentenced him.
Reminded that there was moral burden on Maina not to return to work as he did,
Obla had said: “Law and morality are two different things that don’t mix. There
is a school of jurisprudence that says you cannot mix law with economics, you
cannot mix law with morals, or sociology, history, culture or politics. ‘’So,
we are looking at a legal point of view.
What does the law say about somebody
who has not been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction? Looking at the
moral aspect of it, then it is condemnable. But an allegation has been made
against somebody, but that allegation has not been ventilated in a court of
law.” On the weighty allegations of fraud against Maina, he said: “Yes, to a
lay person, the allegations are immoral, but the man had not been convicted.
I was saying (in the Channel’s
interview) that nobody should blame Mr. President or bring him into this issue.
‘’The discipline of civil servants is not the prerogative of Mr. President.
There is a body established by law, known as the Federal Civil Service
Commission; it is one of the executive bodies established by the law. ‘’Members
of that commission are appointed by the President, subject to the confirmation
by the Senate. The FCSC is supposed to be a body detached from political
interference.
‘’If a civil servant has been
charged to court, the normal procedure is that the Permanent Secretary in the
ministry he is working with would be notified and then a certified true copy of
the charge against him would be brought to the Permanent Secretary in the
ministry. ‘’The civil servant would now be placed on suspension and sometimes,
such a worker is placed on half pay. If the court now finds him guilty, it is
not enough. Then the ministry has to report to the FCSC. ‘’This is because the
FCSC is responsible for the recruitment, promotion and discipline of senior
civil servants from Level 8 to Level 17.
Then they would now initiate
disciplinary measures to be meted out on the civil servant. When they find the
civil servant guilty or liable, then they inform the President. Reminded that
Maina had been declared wanted by the EFCC, Obla declared: “The EFCC is not a
court of law, the Supreme Court has said that in several cases. The case
against Rotimi Amaechi (Minister of Transportation) and the Independent
National Electoral Commission is an example.
‘’Amaechi won the primary election
in Rivers State. But the Peoples Democratic Party then said he was under
investigation by the EFCC and based on that, he should not stand for election.
And they gave the governorship ticket to (Celestine) Omehia. ‘’Then Amaechi
went to court and the matter ended at the Supreme Court. Amaechi won and was
declared governor. The Supreme Court said an indictment must be only by a court
of law and not by somebody or an investigative body like the EFCC, the police
or Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
‘’So, if somebody is being declared
wanted by the EFCC, it does not amount to the person being adjudged a criminal.
After investigation, the matter must go before the court. ‘’I understand he
(Maina) went to court and the court said his dismissal was wrong. That means he
was not given fair hearing. Maybe it was based on that that the FCSC asked for
his reinstatement. ‘’I am still maintaining my stand, despite what has happened
(Maina’s sacking). That is why the President has ordered an investigation. I
think we should not pre-empt the findings of the investigation the President
has ordered.’’
Maina’s Saga: Malami, Dambazau face
Senate Committee this week However, barring any last minute change, the
Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami,
and his counterpart in Interior Ministry, Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau,
retd, will appear before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Establishment and
Public Services this week. The appearance is sequel to allegations against them
by the Senate for being the mastermind of the clandestine return to the country
and subsequent reinstatement of former chairman of the Presidential Task Force
on Pension Reforms, Abdullahi Abdulrasheed Maina, to the Interior Ministry as a
director.
The ministers are expected to appear
before the Ad- hoc Committee, led by Senator Emmanuel Paulker, PDP, Bayelsa Central.
Other members of the Ad- hoc Committee are the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of
Senate Committees on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes; Judiciary, Human
Rights and Legal Matters; Interior and Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on
Establishment and Public Services.
Speaking with Vanguard in Abuja,
last Wednesday, Senator Paulker had said the two ministers will appear before
the committee this week to formally defend themselves. He said: “We are going
to meet at the committee level this week( last week) then next week (this week)
the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice would then
appear before us.”
The Senate had penultimate week, put
in place an Ad-hoc Committees to determine the circumstances that led to the
return of Maina to the country and his compensation with such a position as a
director in the Federal Civil Service, in spite of the fact that he had been
under watch. Before setting up the committee, Senate President, Bukola Saraki,
had said: “We are all very disturbed and I would like the committee to work
hard on this matter that bothers on our security, corruption and how we manage
the public service.”
The senators had indicted Malami and
Dambazau for being responsible for the Maina saga during plenary on October 24.
President Buhari should act with dispatch on Mainagate — Falana Human rights
lawyer Femi Falana reacted this way: “Completely dissatisfied with the sudden
removal of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina from the public service of the Federal
Government, his family has accused the Buhari administration of official
hypocrisy and betrayal. At a press conference held in Kaduna a fortnight ago,
the spokesman for the family, Mr. Aliyu Maina, pointed out that ‘Abdulrasheed
was in fact invited by this administration to come and clean up the mess and
generate more revenue to the government by blocking leakages.
He has been working with the DSS for
quite some time and he was given necessary security. So, one wonders why all
the agencies and various individuals responsible for his return are now
denying.’ “In view of the revelation of the family which has not been denied,
it is crystal clear that the highly placed officials of the Federal Government
who brought Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina back to the country, gave him a clean bill
of health, provided him with “necessary security”, reinstated him, promoted him
and paid his arrears of salaries and allowances totalling N22 million
deliberately set out to subvert the anti corruption policy of the Buhari
administration. It is the height of insensitivity to pay arrears of salaries to
a fugitive at a time when hundreds of thousands of workers and pensioners are
owed arrears of their legitimate emoluments.
“Through such demonstration of
official impunity the officials involved have exposed the country to ridicule
before the comity of nations. Having found Maina and exonerated him why was
Interpol not informed that he was no longer wanted to stand trial for his role
in the unprecedented pension fraud? Since Mr. Maina’s “necessary security”
provided by the State Security Service has not been withdrawn why is the
Federal Government requesting the Interpol to declare him wanted again? Will
Interpol believe that a man who was provided with “necessary security” cannot
be found by the Federal Government? Why is the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission asking Nigerians to assist in searching for the fugitive? “Although
the federal government has promised not to sweep the Mainagate under the
carpet, the handling of the monumental scandal so far eroded the credibility of
the anti corruption crusade of the Buhari administration.
Therefore, the sanctions which the
Federal Government will mete out to all the officials who conspired to expose
the administration and the nation to such avoidable shame will make or mar the
fight against corruption and impunity which is the cornerstone of the domestic
and foreign policy thrust of the administration. “Time is certainly not on the
side of President Buhari!”
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