Maina to appear before Reps’ panel next week

Embattled Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reform Team, has written to appear before a House of Representatives investigative panel next week.

The House is probing the circumstances of his controversial promotion and reinstatement into the federal civil service.

Daily Trust reports that sources within and outside the panel yesterday said Maina, who was reported to have fled the country after the scandal of his secret reinstatement and subsequent promotion to a position of director, is somewhere in the country.

It was gathered that Maina submitted some documents to the House panel, chaired by Aliyu Sani Madaki, (APC Kano State).

The documents were submitted by one Barrister Muhammad Sani Katu, a lawyer with the Justice Maman Nasir Chambers.

Maina is expected to appear before the panel next week barring change of schedule, the sources said.

However, the sources said, powerful forces were making frantic efforts to prevent him from appearing before the panel as he is likely to open “can of worms” against them.

“Yes, he has expressed his readiness to appear before the panel to testify. But the problem is that some forces don’t want him to appear, because they feel threatened; they feel he’s likely to open can of worms.

“That’s the true picture of the situation, but the committee has gone far in its activities. What we can’t say certainly is if the forces will allow the man (Maina) to appear before the committee,” a source familiar with the matter said.