Update: Sack Maina now, Nigerian Senate tells Jonathan

Posted by admin Legislature, Senate Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

The Senate on Wednesday adopted a motion demanding the immediate sack of the Chairman of the Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, for gross misconduct.
After more than one hour deliberation on a motion sponsored by its majority leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, the Senate also asked the Federal Government not to accord Mr. Maina any right and privileges public officials in his position are entitled to after service.
The senate also asked the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to appear before it to explain why the police failed to act on the warrant of arrest issued on Mr. Maina for repeatedly refusing to honour a Senate invitation over the controversial N195 billion pension scam.
Should the police boss fail to honour the lawmaker’s invitation, the Senate threatened to pass a vote of no confidence on him.
Before the resolution, several members who spoke accused the Federal Government and President Goodluck Jonathan of collaborating with Mr. Maina to perpetrate the crime against Nigerians.
“Maina has scored an own-goal against Nigeria and Nigerians. Maina is working for the Executive and the President is the Chief executive. It means the executive is collaborating with him. The President must move to equalize the own-goal and go ahead to score the winning goal to restore the credibility of the government,” Olubunmi Adetumbi (Ekiti) said in his contribution.
Smart Adeyemi (Kogi) also condemned the executive for failing to honour previous Aenate resolutions.
“We have no reason to be here. If we will pass resolutions and the executive will not implement them, then what are we doing here,” he said.
It is not clear if President Jonathan will honour the resolution on Mr. Maina. An earlier one by both chambers of the National Assembly on Arunma Oteh, head of the Security and Exchange Commission, was not honoured.
Ms. Oteh is still in office while lawmakers have refused to appropriate money to her commission.wp_posts