More than two weeks after replying a query issued by the Ministry of Transport, Hadiza Usman was on Tuesday replaced as managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), without a definite response from the ministry or a formal indictment by its probe committee, PREMIUM TIMES has learned.
Ms Usman has been at loggerheads with the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, over sundry issues regarding the running of the agency. Mr Amaechi’s ministry supervises the NPA, alongside other sister agencies.
Last May, the minister had alleged that the NPA recorded an outstanding unremitted balance of N165 billion (N165, 320, 962, 697), claiming that the financial account of the NPA be investigated and audited.
Ms Usman, whose second term at the agency had just been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, was suspended and a committee was set up to probe her tenure.
The president named Mohammed Bello-Koko as acting MD.
On Tuesday, Mr Buhari confirmed the appointment of Mr Bello-Koko as the managing director of the NPA.
The appointment was confirmed even when the former NPA boss had not been formally indicted by the Transport Ministry’s probe committee and the ministry did not reply to her response to its query.
In the query issued to Mrs Usman, the ministry omitted the major charge of N165 billion unremitted balance, the major infraction leveled against her by Mr Amaechi in May.
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Query
In the query seen by PREMIUM TIMES, dated January 26, 2022, the ministry said the committee accused Mrs Usman of various acts of insubordination.
It listed the acts to include disregard for ministerial directive in respect of the Bonny/Port Harcourt and Lagos port channel management contract; and unlawful procurement of the operation of truck transit park for port bound trucks (e-call up) with the non-payment into TSA;
It also includes unilateral execution of a supplemental agreement in respect of the Lekki Deep Seaport concession project; breach of the channels of the communication in the public service; and unilateral and improper use of the emergency procurement mode to procure vehicles.
In addition, the ministry alleged misconduct in waiver, rebates and tariffs granted by NPA without requisite approval; disobedience of court order in respect of pilotage contract between NPA and Intels’.
It also alleged disregard of court order in the matter between NPA and BUA ports and terminal limited in respect of the concession of Terminal B Rivers ports complex; breach of presidential/ministerial directive in the matter of the LADOL/Samsung dispute; and lease of Koko Port to Messers Creek Shore Jetty and Terminal Ltd.
Response
Mrs Usman responded in a letter dated February 4, denying all the allegations leveled against her by the ministry.
Although she stated that her suspension meant that she had no access to official records, she dismissed all allegations of misconduct and insubordination raised by the ministry.
She said that in the Bonny/Lagos port management contract, the directive was forwarded to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) which clarified that it was an extension of an existing contract and such extensions do not require the attention of either the ministerial tenders board or the federal executive council.
She denied disobeying court orders in the Samsung-LADOL issues, adding that the NPA acted within the ambit of the laws, including on the issue of the lease of Koko Port
On the e-call up system, she argued that it was practically impossible to have the e-Wallet account domiciled with the TSA as the amount standing to the credit of the transporters’ wallets still belong to the customers.
In addition, she said, the owners of the satellite parks and pre-gates used for gating trucks before their callup into the ports need to be paid weekly from the wallet account based on how many bookings were made for their parks.
She also denied unilaterally executing a supplemental agreement in respect of the Lekki Deep Seaport concession project.
PREMIUM TIMES learned that Ms Usman received no reaction to her response to the transport ministry’s query, nor was she indicted by the probe committee.
However, events took a dramatic turn as she was replaced Tuesday by the president in a statement released by the transport ministry.
A spokesperson for the ministry, Eric Ejiekwe, did not respond to a call and a message seeking comment Wednesday.
