Blames Amaechi for her removal as NPA MD
Admin l Tuesday, April 11, 2023
LAGOS, Nigeria – Former Bring Back Our Girls campaigner, rewarded with appointment as Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman has attributed her sack as MD of the NPA to the activities of former Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
Hadiza Bala Usman made the revelation in her new book, “Stepping on Toes; My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority”.
According to herm, many notable Nigerians met the minister in order to resolve the acrimony between them shortly after she was asked to “step aside” in May 2021.
Hadiza wrote that Rotimi Amaechi rejected entreaties from governors, Customs boss Hameed Ali and others to reinstate her, stressing that her offence was her failure to do nothing.
“Interest groups and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also tried to intervene. I know for instance that Governors elected on the platform of the APC, the Progressive Governors Forum, chaired by Governor Atiku Bagudu deliberated on the issue of my suspension and constituted a committee to intervene.
“The Governors’ team met with the Minister to discuss a resolution of the matter. He insisted that my management of the NPA had to be investigated due to the amount unremitted to the CRF [Consolidated Revenue Fund].
“He even tried to Sway the governors’ resolve by suggesting that the budget of the NPA was bigger than most of their state budgets so they shouldn’t bother about me.
“When the governors persisted, he told them that the matter was no longer just within his purview and that they may need to approach the Head of Service of the Federation.
“He told another person who tried to intervene that I was so selfish that did nothing for him from NPA and never even gave him a birthday present!”, Hadiza Bala Usman wrote.