‘KPMG Report Fake’ – Maina’s Pension Reform Task Force

A spokesperson for the Pension Reform Task Team that uncovered N 151 billion in pension money has said the allegations accusing the team of wasting N 180 million on an offshore pension registration exercise are unwarranted and without merit.

The spokesperson, Hassan Salihu, specifically cited a KPMG report indicting the Task Force on corrupt practices as “fake”.

According to Salihu, ““The report only apportioned blame to a task force team.  Why is the KPMG so silent on the N119m allegedly illegally withdrew by one Director of Police Pension Office, which the Task Force detected?

“The PRTT is not aware of any KPMG forensic report that says it looted pension funds. To date, nobody has given us any such KPMG report. Hence, it is a fake KPMG report.”

The spokesperson suggested it would not be possible for Maina and his team to embezzle money since the ability to approve such large monetary payments lay in the Office of the Head of Service.

“To put the record straight, the Chairman of the PRTT, Abdulrasheed Maina, has not been assigned the responsibility of such magnitude of approval for the Police Pension Office. All approvals are granted by the Head of Civil Service of Federation. This could be verified.

“Then, is it correct or logical to say that the Chairman of the Task Force Team or the Head of the Civil Service of Federation looted  the pension fund? Obviously, there are structures for expenditure control and auditing in the Police Pension Office, which  processes  payments and submit e-payment schedules to the banks.”

The spokesperson insisted that there was a cartel responsible for commissioning the damaging report on their activities.

“Why are we not raising questions on the N151bn recovered and saved by the Pension Task Team? Why is it that the sum of N180m used in the payment of Duty Travel Allowances to personnel is the item beclouding the cartel that is sponsoring all these callous and unsubstantiated allegations against Maina who has been able to bring to fore the senseless nature of how some officers are looting the pension fund?”