Rule of law: Sacked CEO asks SC to take up Midas payment case

Says he was removed from post because he refused to make illegal payment to advertising company.

ISLAMABAD:

Sacked chief executive officer (CEO) of the Universal Service Fund (USF) Riaz Ashar Siddiqui has appealed to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo motu notice of a case regarding the illegal payment of Rs135 million to Midas Private Limited, an advertising company.

The former executive of the USF has also filed a writ petition in the high court against his illegal removal from his position as the CEO.

Speaking to this correspondent, Siddiqui revealed that strictly following the apex court’s orders issued to the government employees that they should not accept any illegal orders from their seniors, he had refused to pay Rs135 million to the advertising company from the national exchequer. Consequently, he claimed, he was punished and removed from his post as CEO of the USF.

“If stopping illegal payments to Midas is a crime, I shall commit this crime a thousand times over,” he declared. “My service career is evident that I have never done anything illegal nor have I ever supported any such thing and as a result I am still living in a rented house.”

Responding to a query, the sacked USF CEO strongly refuted allegations that he ever supported assigning a media campaign or any payment to Midas during the tenure of Yousaf Raza Gilani as the minster in charge of information technology.

He claimed that to counter “pressure from high-ups” he invited tenders from interested parties through newspaper advertisements, a move resented by then secretary information technology who had threatened to deprive him of funds. The secretary and other authorities, according to Siddiqui, had all the other tenders cancelled through pressure and the contract was awarded to Midas.

Siddiqui claimed that that he asked then IT secretary and other authorities how the campaign could commence without tenders as per Pemra regulations but they advised him to “keep quiet”.

“I clarified that I will not support this illegal action,” he said. “The campaign continued despite my objection, so I issued a notice to Midas who was running the campaign. I am not aware if they have withdrawn that notice in backdate but I had not withdrawn it till I was on my post.”

He said the Supreme Court should take notice of the violation of law on the part of Midas to start a media campaign on its own without acquiring it properly through Pemra rules. He claimed that he was determined to take action against Midas but he could not do so because he was removed from his position.

He reiterated that he had made no illegal payments to Midas and if anyone else did, they should be held responsible.

“Had I accepted the pressure from the government and made illegal payments to Midas, I would not suffer, therefore, I request the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice and investigate this.”

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also initiated investigations into the payment case of Midas.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2012.