Protesters prevented the Chairman of the Pensions Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, from appearing before the Senate Joint Committee on Pensions Investigations.
He was billed to appear before the committee for the resumed hearing on the N195bn Pension funds belonging to Customs, Immigration and Prison Pension Office on Wednesday at 12 noon. A warrant of arrest had earlier been issued to compel his appearance.
The arrest warrant was signed by the President of the Senate last Thursday directing the Inspector General of Police to arrest and bring Maina before the committee on Wednesday, December 19, 2012.
However, while members of the joint committee waited for him at the committee room, two groups of protesters – one in support and the other against him – thronged the entrance of the National Assembly, forcing the security men to lock the gates.
Protesters against him called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arrest him. They also called for the disbandment of the Pension Task Team, arguing that its existence was of no benefit to pensioners.
On the other hand, his supporters called on the Senate to leave him alone, saying he had done a great work in reforming the pensions system in Nigeria and saved the nation a lot of funds.
Maina, who later arrived at the National Assembly entrance, danced with his supporters and later spoke to journalists.
"I am here and I am trying to enter, but they will not allow me to enter," he said.
At the committee room, Chairman of the committee, Senator Aloysius Etok, said, "We've been sitting and adjourning for the sake of making sure that he's here so that we can give him fair hearing because, in the other pension areas, he said he didn't have fair hearing.
"We've been here; we've kept the people waiting for one hour and incidentally, the Inspector General of Police is not here. The Senate, under the hand of the Senate President, issued a warrant of arrest and directed the Inspector General of Police to present and compel Maina to appear before this committee by 12 o'clock on the dot and we've been waiting here, and this is one hour, ten minutes and we have not seen him."
Co-Chairman of the committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, said Maina's absence would not stall the Senate's investigations.
He said, "I have just been briefed by the police that he is at the gate addressing his supporters instead of coming here. We wanted him to be here by 12 noon, he is not here by 12, so the committee will know what to do. Nigerians are watching, we are open and sincere; we wanted this on record; God knows we have tried."
The committee had earlier submitted its report detailing its findings after several weeks of probe of the nation's pensions' scheme.
It was asked to return to subject the Pensions Reforms Task Team to further probe, after the report indicated that Maina had failed to appear before the committee to explain the whereabouts of pension funds belonging to Customs, Immigrations and Prisons Pensions Office.
