Suspended Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman, has reacted to claims by a former board member of the agency, Senator Binta Garba, that she was removed from the board when started asking probing because she asked questions about financial operations of the NPA under Usman.
For the suspended NPA boss, Garba’s allegations were spurious and unfounded.
Senator Binta Masi Garba, who claimed that Bala-Usman orchestrated her removal from the board, alleged financial discrepancies in the operations of organization under the suspended NPA boss.
Senator Garba, who was reacting to the suspension of Hadiza Usman, said she noted a lot of inconsistencies and discrepancies in the accounts of the NPA during one of the board meetings held in June last year.
Senator Garba represented Adamawa North Senatorial District in the Senate
Garba in a statement on the NPA MD suspension said she had raised a lot of questions which answers she did not get.
According her, based on this, she had spoken to the then Board Chairman, Chief Akin Ricketts, that she was going to resign from the board, but was advised against this action because of the bad impression it was going to create for the President Muhammadu Buhari administration..
Garba said she had also reported to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi about her observations in NPA and the way the board was being handled.
She also revealed that she had reached out to someone in the Presidency to call Hadiza to order.
According to her, what followed next was her removal from the board, while the then Chairman was changed to a floor member with the appointment of another Chairman.
Part of her statement which was culled from Ships & Ports Online reads: “In January 2021, Senator John Akpanudoedehe and I were removed from the board and our removal was clearly orchestrated by the now suspended Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman. Before my removal, I was not comfortable with the way the board and authority were run. I consistently expressed my discomfort and displeasure with the way the MD was running the place and this, I have no iota of doubt in my mind made her to orchestrate my removal from the board. Note, I was removed without the knowledge of the supervising Ministry/Minister of Transportation, which was very uncommon.
“My observations and complaints with the suspended NPA MD were more with the financial statements of NPA and I was worried that if she continued, there would certainly be trouble and her sudden removal would be inevitable. I noted discrepancies, I raised observations, I asked questions but I was completely ignored and disregarded. Answers were never provided, until my removal was plotted.
“When the board came in, its first meeting was in June 2020, with the aim of deliberating on the financial report. I made some observations on the report which, obviously, the MD, Hadiza Bala Usman, was not comfortable with. At the time, the report covered two years but I objected, pointing out that, under normal circumstances, procedurally and international norms, it should cover a minimum of three years. It was after my objection that the MD grudgingly and resentfully provided the third year’s report. I wasn’t really comfortable. I observed more discrepancies with the financials and asked questions about them. The MD was uncomfortable and even felt slighted by the objective comments and questions.
“Scrutinising the financial reports of the NPA is a very critical and very important aspect of my role and function as a member of its board appointed by the President. I was not ready to abdicate that core responsibility. For me, my board membership of NPA, like every other public office I have held, was a call to serve my country and I was prepared to give it my all. But the suspended MD felt offended by my observations, questions, spotting obvious inconsistencies and acted like someone with a lot to hide. Answers were not forthcoming and, when they did, were less than satisfactory.
“Some members of the board felt I was the only one holding the financial report back. I had to meet with the Minister of Transportation and I told him I wasn’t comfortable with the way and manner the board was being handled and treated by the MD and that I wanted to resign.
“The board chairman, Chief Akin Ricketts (whose removal as board chairman was also orchestrated by the MD) and some other members, prevailed on me not to resign and that, if I did, it would send the wrong signal and would not be good for the President. We settled down to work on it (the financial reports).
“After sometime, my uneasiness did not go away. Again, I met with the Minister of Transportation and told him that I did not want to continue with the board with the way the MD was running the place. I met someone high up in the Presidential Villa and told him my own story and advised that the MD be called to order.
“Instead of making amends, the suspended MD’s next move was to go against the NPA Act by designing my removal from the board. The Act stipulates that it is the Minister who should send names of appointees to the board to the President for approval. For someone to unilaterally go against the Act and the Minister that brought her on board was rather unfortunate.
“I made it very clear to everyone I spoke with about the situation in NPA, stressing that it was not about me but the system, rules and procedures, as well as the survival of our institutions. I could not keep quiet and watch the suspended MD run the NPA aground. I wished she had listened but she didn’t and opted to plot my removal from the board. Unfortunately, I have been vindicated..”
In her reaction on Monday, Hadiza in a statement, said Garba’s claim depicts her as one who had lent herself to be used as agent of destabilisation of the agency.
The statement reads, ‘’Apart from the fact that Senator Binta Garba really said nothing substantial, making only spurious, unproved allegations in the statement she issued on Sunday, she also gave herself away as coming to the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to lend herself to the agency of destabilisation rather than contribute to its development.
‘’As I say with all emphasis that her allegations of resistant to inquiries on the finances of the NPA are false, I make bold to say that the Authority had since 2016, openly exhibited its readiness to be held to public scrutiny by taking the following steps:
‘’Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with BUdgit Open Budget System Platform and Implementation of a Public Data Dissemination programme
‘’Publishing the tariff regime of the Authority on the website for the whole world to see in line with the vision of transparency and accountability. ‘’Conducting the statutory Audit of the backlog of Authority’s financial statements for 2013-2016 and presenting same for approval and submission to the appropriate quarters. ‘’Engaging international renowned auditing firms for the audit of NPA’s financial statements up until 2019 with full compliance to all Nigerian laws and the International Financial Reporting Standards. The 2020 financial statement is currently being audited.
‘’There are a few questions to ask the senator: When the Auditors presented the financial statement to the finance committee of which she was a member, did she seek clarifications on areas that seemed opaque or suspicious?
‘If she did, what happened? If she was not satisfied with the answers provided by the Auditors, why did she not consider withholding assent to the statement? Why did she not formally document her discontent? Why did she not issue a minority opinion on the statement, instead of now speaking after the fact?
‘’All said and done, while I concede to Senator Binta Garba’s right to whatever opinion she desires concerning our relationship when she was a board member, I remind her that those who allow themselves to be used to malign innocent people have their own days of reckoning waiting for them.’’
