The joint Senate Committee of Establishment
and Public Service as well as States and Local Government Affairs has denied an
allegation that the committee demanded N2 billion bribe from the Pension Reform
Task Team.

The Chairman of the joint committee, Sen.
Aloysius Etuk (PDP-Akwa-Ibom) while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday said;
‘’this committee never requested nor demanded anything from the team’’.

Etuk said a newspaper publication of May 7,
credited to the chairman of the task team, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina had alleged
that the committee and he (Etuk) had demanded for a bribe from the task team.

He said the publication went ahead to say
that the committee became bias toward Maina and the task team following his
refusal to give the alleged bribe.

According to Etuk, the committee have been
constrained earlier to issue a statement on the offers of bribes to the joint
committee by the Maina led pension task team.

“There were unbearable pressures being
mounted on the committee by the task team using various highly placed persons.

“They were requesting for the tilting of
this joint committee’s proceedings and final recommendation in favour of the
task team to which this committee rejected. ’’

He alluded to the fact that the task team
had through its spokesman while reacting to the committee’s statement confirmed
that the committee never requested anything from the task team.

The joint committee chairman called on the
Police, the Independent Corrupt Practises and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC) and other law enforcement agencies to commence investigations into the
bribe allegation.

He said; “if proved to be true, I shall
offer myself to be tied to the stake and be shot as an additional antidote to
graft and corruption in our society. ’’

We recalled that the joint committee had
been mandated by the Senate to investigate the management and administration of
pension funds in the country.

The Committee had visited the six
geopolitical zones of the country to receive submission from pensioners and
other stakeholders and concluded the public hearing in Abuja.

There have been revelations on how the
pension fund have been handled which is causing untold hardship to the
pensioners, the committee is expected to submit its report to the Senate soon.