http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/34193-maina-pension-czar-lodged-n88bn-in-brothers-account

The Senate joint committee probing the mess in the nation’s pension system was shocked to hear yesterday that the man appointed by the Federal Government to clean the stinking scheme placed N88 billion pension fund into the private account of his younger brother, Danjuma Zubairu.

The money domiciled in Fidelity Bank fixed account number 5030024748 has a monthly interest of over N100 million, the committee was told.

Abdulrashid Maina, chairman of the Presidential Pension Recovery Task Team, who had appeared before the Senate joint committee on Establishment, public service and local government on Wednesday, reeling out what he claimed he saved the government by his work, may have sensed trouble yesterday, failing to appear to continue with his testimony at the hearing.

When the committee waited for Maina up till the 3pm deadline given him to appear before it, and did not see him, the committee chairman, Aloysius Etok, issued a warrant of arrest and ordered the acting Inspector- General of the Police Mohammed Abubakar to produce him today by 9 a.m.

The revelations at yesterday’s hearing by the chief accountant in the Police Pension office, Toyin Ishola, deflated all the submissions ofMaina before the committee which had given the impression of the task team doing a thorough job.

Maina has had a good record of bribing the Abuja press corps and planting flattering stories in the media and yesterday it was revealed to Business Day there had been surreptitious moves to bribe members of the committee, and two senators in confidence, confirmed to Business Day that large sums of money were offered to them but rejected.

Ishola told the committee that  the Task team was set up to function for three months but that “after the expiration of the three months, Maina refused to hand over the biometric data platform to the Director- General of police pension office, even after the completion of the exercise.

“However, it was observed that, within the period of the assignment, the chairman of the Task team had exceeded his mandate by engaging in frivolous and extravagant expenditures which were beyond his mandate.

“Among these expenditures were the bogus expenditure of the conduct of the Biometric exercise of the retirees in the Disapora, which he spent a whopping sum of N240 million to capture less than 20 retirees and for the local bio data, over N220 million was spent”.

Business Day learnt that Maina cooked up the trip as a way of compromising senior civil servants and he managed to get on that trip 100 topshots including a former Police IG who was serving at the time, the head of ICPC. The head of EFCC declined to fly with the team and returned the N7.5 million sent to her as estacode by Maina.

On the bank accounts of the team, Ishola told the committee “the task team within three months period unilaterally opened three accounts in different banks without recourse to extant financial rules and approval from the Accountant -General of the Federation and the Minister ofFinance.

“In this regard, cash transfer in the sum of N88 billion was credited to Fidelity Bank with A/C No 5030024748, N38 billion to UBA with A/C No 1015556733 and N10 billion to First Bank Plc Maitama branch with A/c No 606204000231”, Ishola told the panel.

He told the committee: “It was uncovered that the money in Fidelity Bank, Central Business District branch was domiciled in the account of the younger brother of the chairman Pension reform task team, named Danjuma Zubairu and the said amount was fixed since then with a monthly interest of over N100 million into the coffers of the perpetrators of the act. N3 billion was deposited in UBA plc up till date, no proper documentation has been effected”.

Ishola informed the joint committee that during the period in question “the task team compelled the police pension office to drop the previous signatories to the pension account and replace them with Magaji A.A., Kaigama and Maina”.

He said “these are just part and not all of the nefarious activities carried out by the task team within three months of its tenure in police pension office, of which he has expended over N3.6 billion within the short period without any entry of such in account books.

“The chairman, Pension Reform Task Team who always claims he is saving government money, has now embarked on frivolous spending without control or putting into consideration the reconciliation aspect of the office and also, disregarding the financial regulation guiding all government expenditure”, he added.

Ishola who was ordered by the chairman of the joint committee to be given police escort henceforth, also disclosed that Maina engaged officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related offences  Commission (ICPC) “as his buddies.

“Hence, some of them are on his payroll so as to use them for his game plan that is, intimidating, harassing and molesting people that will stand in his way of achieving his target in any of the offices given to him for bio data capturing”, he told the committee.

He said: “This was what led to the problems of Police Pension Office, otherwise, before his coming, Police Pension Office was the best in the country when it comes to payment of  pension, as can be attested to by so many retirees on our payroll who are still wondering what went wrong with the prompt pension payment they used to enjoy”.

Ishola told the committee that in the bid to cover his tracks in Police Pension Office “the chairman Task team made it impossible for the office to operate as a legal entity.

He destabilises the whole system by raising false alarms, like accusing the present Director of Police pension office Y.K. Adeyemi ofembezzling N119 million which was investigated by a reputable audit firm named KPMG and found same to be false, making government to waste funds he claims to be saving”.

Ishola’s testimony confirms BusinessDay stories highligting the fraud in the pension scheme and how individuals like Maina were feeding fat on retirees sweat.

The hearing is expected to be concluded today and former chairman of the EFCC Farida Waziri may appear to clear the air on some of the allegations linked to her while in office.

"In this regard, cash transfer in the sum of N88 billion was credited to Fidelity Bank with A/C No 5030024748, N38 billion to UBA with A/C No 1015556733 and N10 billion to First Bank Plc Maitama branch with A/c No 606204000231”, Ishola told the panel.

God, This country, Whay are people just ready to steal Billions anytime they are given a govt apptment,

Now we are seeing the results of those committee here, committe there, panel here, panel there,

But what will happen after all these revelations

Your guess is just as good as mine!

Waiting on Maina to respond to this accusation.

Meanwhile, fingers crossed.

this is one common practice in our public sector, it is no news that govt money gets flipped in this manner by most top Govt. official.

I wonder where this country is heading to, with scams of such colossal magnitude.

Jeez!

You guys really expect normal human beings not to steal billions with the level of impunity and warped values in the country?

Let's wait for Maina to respond because I can recall that so many ghost workers were found in the police pension pay roll. How are we sure this is not a story, maybe cooked, to rubbish Maina's image.

Maina, speak up fast!

jamace:

Let's wait for Maina to respond because I can recall that so many ghost workers were found in the police pension pay roll. How are we sure this is not a story, maybe cooked, to rubbish Maina's image.

Maina, speak up fast!

^^^On the bolded, you go wait tire. I heard dude has legged it and gone AWOL .