- Mark disclosed that he reached a breaking point when Maina began ignoring the Senate’s summons for him to appear and explain the allegations of mismanagement of pensions funds under his watch
- The former senate president stated that the ex-pensions boss was arrogant and loud, and kept on boasting about his connection to the Presidential Villa, as he bluffed the Senate
- A letter was finally drafted to Jonathan, giving him a two-day ultimatum to sack Maina, which he finally assented to, following a similar show of force by the House of Reps
Former Senate President, David Mark, has revealed how the Senate had to threaten ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, before he consented to dismissing the embattled former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, from the civil service in 2013, Premium Times reports.
Mark made his comments in Against the Run of Play, a book which was written by Olusegun Adeniyi.
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We gather that Mark disclosed that during the GEJ regime, Maina was a very loud fellow who projected himself as being untouchable.
The fugitive former pensions boss had ignored several summons given by the upper legislative chamber, for him to appear and answer questions concerning the allegations of mismanagement of pension funds under his watch.
The Senate then had to resort to threatening the former president, before he sacked Maina.
Mark stated: “You know he (Maina) is a very loud fellow who talks too much.
“He was all over the place, boasting about his connection to the Presidential Villa and kept on bluffing the Senate.
“To compound the issue, he was indeed seen driving in and out of Aso Rock in a convoy of vehicles with police escort. It was at a point when I couldn’t take the nonsense any longer that that I decided on the letter to the President.”
Former President Jonathan was then given a two-day ultimatum to sack Maina, by the Senate.
The ultimatum was conveyed in a letter which was drafted following a motion sponsored by then Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, and 107 senators, which was titled: 'Dismissal of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina for refusal to appear before the Senate.'
Speaking about the decision to his colleagues during plenary, Mark stated: “The Executive has to choose between the Senate and Maina. He has crucified himself. If Maina remains, then the Senate would react appropriately.
“The Senate is not lacking in ideas on what to do. Nobody in this country is bigger than our democracy. I have been extremely patient with Maina, so that when we react, they will know that we have been fair.”
Mark also ordered the police to sack Maina, stating: “This Senate is not going to allow this to linger. If in two days they (the police) have not done anything, we can come here and convene and take a decision.
“This Senate will bite when it needs to bite, and when we decide to bite, there will be no room for escape.”
Taking a queue from the upper legislative chamber, the House of Representatives followed suit a few days later, and resolved to endorse the Senate’s decision.
It was following this show of force by the National Assembly, that Jonathan directed the Head of Service to sack Maina for absconding from duty and evading arrest.
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the presidency blamed certain influential government officials whom they described as loyalists to the administration of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, for being behind the controversial reinstatement of former pensions’ boss, Abdulrasheed Maina, into the civil service.
The position of the presidency was made public in a statement released by Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, to newsmen, on Wednesday, October 25.
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