PDP SPEAKS ON MAINA'S RETURN

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that the return of the embattled former head of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina to public reckoning is a classical case ”of honor among theives.”

The opposition party said the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, could not absolve itself from the mess generated by the controversial return and promotion of the civil servant, who is under investigation for alleged diversion of billions of pension funds.

The party which said this in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Dayo Adeyeye ,Monday condemned the action.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday directed the immediate dismissal of Mr. Maina, who absconded after being declared wanted for corruption, but was recently reinstated to a higher post.

But the PDP appears not to be impressed.

“Birds of a feather flocks together. The party condemns this action of reinstating a supposed criminal and fugitive, Abdulrasheed Maina to office instead of getting him arrested.

“All people of good conscience will not forget in a hurry that Maina, who was given an assignment by the last administration of the PDP to superintend the now defunct Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, dipped his hands into the jar and helped himself to N100 billion of what he was supposed to safeguard.

“With good conscience at fighting corruption, the PDP government then, mandated the anti-corruption agencies to perform their constitutional duty. Maina fled, only to resurface in the country four months ago under the Buhari Administration,” the party said.

“As a party of good conscience, we wish to condemn in strongest terms, the penchant of the administration of President Buhari to giving safe haven to known criminals while hoodwinking Nigerians that it is fighting corruption,” it added.