The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winfred Oyo-Ita, has insisted that letters came from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, to the Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC, directing the reinstatement of ex-pension boss, Abdurasheed Maina.
Oyo-Ita made this revelation when she appeared before the House of Representatives committee investigating the disappearance, reappearance and reinstatement of Maina in the federal civil service on Thursday.
The HoS said she was also surprised to hear about Maina’s reinstatement in the media like anyone else, submitting that the Ministry of Interior never acted on her letters.
Speaking further, Oyo-Ita insisted that she has never received any notification that Maina challenged his dismissal in court since her appointment.
She said, “Maina was dismissed in 2013 from federal civil service.
“Sometime this year, letters began to come from AGF to the Federal Civil Service Commission, copied to my office.
“AGF gave directed that Maina should be reinstated.
“When I got hold of the letter, I held on it.
“I learnt through the media that he had been reinstated. Those are the clarifications I have to make on this.
“No ministry has the authorities to issue reinstatement letters. When I learnt through the media and a letter from the Chief of Staff that Mr. Maina had been reinstated, I wrote a letter to Perm Second, Ministry of Interior.
“The permanent secretary never acted on any letter from my office. The Federal Civil Service Commission has its own mandate.
“It is surprising that without my conveying this letter, the ministry of Interior went ahead to reinstate Maina.
“I decided to hold onto that letter to seek further clarification. I was concerned that the decision to reinstate Maina may not have been in the interest of the present administration. I held on because Mr. Maina may not have cleared the issue with the security agencies.
“I have not received such notifications from the time I took over.”
When the committee demanded to know why she could entertain any letter from the AGF as against the Civil Service practices and norms, Oyo-Ita said, “The AGF is the number legal authority of this country. So, whatever legal decision he has would not be discarded just like that.”
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