President Buhari never took photograph with Maina

President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday explained that the president never took a photograph with Abdulrasheed Maina, fugitive former chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, whose controversial reinstatement into the civil service elicited condemnation from Nigerians.

In a series of tweets, Mr. Shehu said the person in the photograph being mistaken to be Mr. Maina is Ado Doguwa, the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency of Kano State.

“DISCLAIMER: There is a photograph all over the Social Media of President @MBuhari, Senate President @bukolasaraki and Hon. Ado Garba Doguwa Alhassan being mistaken to be the embattled ex-chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina”, Mr. Shehu tweeted.

Clarifying that the said photograph was taken to mark Nigeria’s 57th independence in October, Mr. Shehu said, “Hon. Doguwa represented the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the special Jummat prayers to mark the nation’s 57th year anniversary at the Presidential Villa weeks ago”.

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported Mr. Maina’s recall to the interior ministry on Friday prompting condemnation from Nigerians.

The president on Monday ordered Mr. Maina’s dis-engagement from the civil service a‎nd an investigation into how he was recalled.

Although the report was sent to the president on Monday evening, he is yet to comment on it.

Mr. Maina was declared wanted by the anti-graft agency, EFCC, in 2015.

Screenshots from Twitter