Maina saga: Senators stunned as perm sec makes surprising revelation about Interior minister's involvement in controversial issue

macfranc007 November 09, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Buchi Obichie

- The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Abubakar Magaji, has informed the Senate that the interior minister, Abdulrahman Dambazau, played no role in the controversial reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina

- According to the senior civil servant, all correspondences to the ministry were sent to his office and not to the minister

- Magaji claimed that Dambazau did not see or receive any mail in the process of Maina’s reinstatement into the civil service, and told lawmakers that the minister was the wrong official for them to question over the issue

Members of the Senate probing the scandal involving the embattled ex-chairman of the presidential task force on pension reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, received a shocker from the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Abubakar Magaji, on Wednesday, November 8, Premium Times reports.

The lawmakers were reportedly informed by the senior civil servant, that Abdulrahman Dambazau, minister of interior, played no part in the controversial reinstatement of the fugitive former pension boss into the federal civil service.

NAIJ.com gathers that Magaji stated that Dambazau did not see or receive any mail in the process of Maina’s reinstatement.

Dambazzau played no role in Maina’s reinstatement - Perm Sec tells Senate

Abdulrasheed Maina is currently in hiding (Photo credit: Premium Times)

According to Magaji, he was in the best position to answer questions relating to the issue, not Dambazau, because it was his office which had received all correspondences.

He stated: “In a ministry, there are responsibilities. The minister is in charge of policy direction while the permanent secretary’s office is in charge of establishment matters, which we are discussing today; and all correspondences to the ministry were sent to perm sec directly and not to the minister.

“The minister has not seen a single mail related to Maina in his office or directed any action other than the perm sec’s office. That’s why I feel I should be here to assist even though I wasn’t in the ministry when this thing happened.”

Magaji told the committee which was set up to probe the matter, that Dambazau was attending a council meeting, and that was why he was unable to appear before it.

He also stated that the minister was not the official to be grilled on the issue for which he was invited.

Magaji’s request to stand in for Dambazau was however rejected by the lawmakers.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the investigation by the Senate into the controversial reinstatement of the former chairman of the presidential task team on pension reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, into the Federal Civil Service, would be carried out behind closed doors.

The development was made public by Senator Emmanuel Paulker, chairman of the Senate adhoc committee set up to investigate the matter, during a chat with newsmen in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Paulker stated that the committee was not on a witch-hunt, but simply carrying out its constitutional duties.

Top 4 corruption cases: Maina back in the spotlight - on NAIJ.com TV: