Hadiza Bala Usman, the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), has said that, contrary to charges made by the former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, no money was missing from the NPA during her term.
Bala Usman revealed in her newly released memoir, “Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority,” that at the end of the eight-month investigation by the panel set up by the minister to investigate her management, the agency was found to have remitted more than the alleged non-remittance.
Bala Usman was removed from office in May 2021 after allegations that the agency failed to deposit N165 billion in operational surpluses into the federation’s Consolidated Revenue Fund Account. President Muhammadu Buhari granted Amaechi’s request for an investigation into the former MD’s management of NPA’s accounts. He then established an administrative panel of investigation to probe the NPA’s operations, including contract awards from 2016 to May 2021. In addition, he requested that the panel “review and probe compliance with communication channels gained in the public sector.” ‘Despite the fact that the inquiry, which lasted around nine months, yielded no proof of non-remittance, Bala Usman was dismissed of her post and replaced by Mohammed Bello-Koko, who worked as her Executive Director, Finance and Administration. This happened after the administrative panel’s tasks were completed in February 2022.
But, in her book, published on Tuesday, Bala Usman wrote: “Then, in the middle of January, I discovered that the panel had completed its report and had handed it to the Minister.” While I did not receive the whole report, I did discover that the panel was unable to demonstrate any non-remittance, as the Minister alleged and sold to the President and Nigerians.
“I was informed that we had in fact remitted over N182 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund over the time.” The Minister was believed to be enraged, but there was little he could do about it.”
Despite so, the former NPA chief stated that Amaechi asked that she be removed from office by the President.
“… the President apparently directed him to provide me a copy of the report and request my defense in writing,” she wrote. I then discovered that the Minister stated that there was no need for that because I had the opportunity to explain myself before the panel. The President, on the other hand, demanded that because I hadn’t read the report, I be given the right to defend myself in writing on the panel’s findings. The Minister allegedly then exited the residence, enraged at the President’s demand. I awaited the report, but it never arrived. Instead, a question was sent to my house at noon on Friday, January 28, 2022.” Even this question elicited no concerns about the purported non-remittance, which she said was misrepresented to the public as the primary cause for her suspension.
Yet, Bala Usman hinted at operational disputes that may have positioned her against the minister. She said that an industry stakeholder had advised her that the minister would want her out when two significant contracts were up for renewal.
“The first of them was the capital dredging contract, and the second was the service boat management contract,” according to the book. As the minister sought that the businesses providing capital dredging services be extended without appropriate procedure, he received clearance for the revival of an expired service boat contract. He received this despite the fact that the firm owed the federal government, had violated the Treasury Single Account rules, and, most importantly, no longer had any contract with the NPA.”
Bala Usman, on the other hand, expressed gratitude that the panel found nothing damning against her.
“I thank God that the reports revealing the panel’s conclusions that there were no unremitted money got out before the unveiling of the new Managing Director,” she wrote.
“Items four and five of the administrative panel of inquiry’s articles of reference required it to study and probe ‘contract procurement’ from 2016 to May 2021, as well as ‘establish the income and expenditure profile’ of the NPA during the same time period.”
“I oversaw the Authority’s complete implementation of its budgets for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.” This amounted to N968,095,758,859.00 (nine hundred billion, ninety-five million, seven hundred and fifty-eight thousand, eight hundred and fifty-nine Naira), or approximately $3,039,352,450.80 (three billion, thirty-nine million, three hundred and fifty-two thousand, four hundred and fifty thousand US dollars, eight cents).
