Who is lying, Minister or Head of Service, Buhari decides

Controversy surrounding the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina into the country’s civil service is getting messier by the day as the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, has denied reports that she approved the reinstatement of the wanted former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.

In her reply to a query issued her by the presidency over the reinstatement of Maina, Oyo-Ita on Monday dismissed reports that she approved the reinstatement and subsequent posting of Maina to the Ministry of Interior.

Oyo-Ita’s refutal was contained in a statement by her Assistant Director, Media Relations, Mohammed Manga.

The Head of Service maintained that Maina’s restatement and posting did not emanate from her office.

The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau who had earlier exonerated himself from complicity in the matter, said Maina was posted to his ministry by the Head of Service.

The Minister, on October 22, had confirmed the resumption of duty by Abdulrasheed Maina, as an Acting Director in his ministry.

The confirmation came in a statement issued by the Press Secretary to the minister, Mr Ehisienmen Osaigbovo.

Maina was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as Chairman of the task force in 2010 to check the corruption in the country’s pension system.

In 2012, the Nigeria Police accused him of misappropriating N100 billion pension funds in connivance with others.

The Civil Service Commission reportedly dismissed him for “absconding from duty’’.

Maina was arraigned in absentia by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which declared him wanted in 2015.

Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesman of the anti-graft agency in a statement on Saturday, said Maina remained on the commission’s wanted list.

A presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, on Monday confirmed that the report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior had been submitted to the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, in a memo to Oyo-Ita, directed the immediate disengagement from service of Maina.

The President equally demanded a full report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior, saying the report must be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, before the end of work today.

Adesina, in a television interview on Monday night, confirmed that Oyo-Ita had submitted the report to the office of the Chief of Staff as demanded by the President.

Source: PM NEWS

Activist Arrested For Saying The President Is ‘Walking-dead’

It has been reported that a Zimbabwe an activist, Sten Zvorwadza was arrested for describing the ancient President of the country, Robert Mugabe as a dead man walking.

Zvorwadza made the remark about the 93-year-old leader while he was commenting on the recent disturbance between authorities and vendors.

It happened that the Zimbabwean police launched a campaign called “operation restore order” to get rid of vendors in the streets of the country’s capital, Harare.

According to Buzz South Africa, the operation was initiated after Mr Mugabe complained that the streets are overcrowded and must be cleared.

Being the leader of a street vendor’s union, Zvorwadza reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the way the authorities handled the issued. It is said that he described Mugabe as an old, day-dreaming President who’s walking dead.

For that, he was arrested and charged for insulting and undermining the President.

Zvorwadza is famed as an anti-Mugabe campaigner who has led several protests, encouraging Zimbabweans to rise and get rid of Mugabe.

Confirming Zvorwadza’s arrest, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) related that he’s yet to appear in court.

Sometime in February 2017, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum expressed that it is concerned about the unwarranted clampdown on vendors by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in Harare Central Business District.

Then, the forum bemoaned the unnecessary efforts to get rid of the sellers which resulted in the arbitrary arrest and torture of vendors.

“Arbitrary arrest, torture, and the propensity of the ZRP officers to use brutal force on citizens is a violation of an individuals’ self-worth and the right to personal liberty, human dignity, personal security and freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment; rights that are all protected in the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” stated the forum.

With that, it urged the government of Zimbabwe to investigate all allegations of human rights violations, prosecute and punish acts of torture to bring justice to the victims. Hardly can anyone tell if that was ever done.

Source: PM News