By Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority,
Hadiza Bala Usman, was not queried, nor was she made aware of the allegations against her management prior to her suspension by President Muhammadu Buhari, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.

Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Thursday night announced that Mr Buhari had approved the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, to set up an administrative panel of inquiry to investigate Ms Usman’s management of the NPA.

“The President has also approved that the Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, step aside while the investigation is carried out. Mr Mohammed Koko will act in that position,” Mr Shehu added.

However, PREMIUM TIMES determined Friday morning that the NPA managing director was not told what her offences were or formally communicated before her suspension was announced by the presidency.

When contacted early Friday morning, Ms Usman confirmed that she neither received a query nor a suspension letter. She declined further comments on her ordeal.
Not querying her or making her aware of her offence(s) before suspending her is a clear breach of the processes stipulated in the government’s own regulation for disciplining heads of government agencies.

According to a government circular dated May 19, 2020, and endorsed by the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, when there is an issue of impropriety against the head of an agency, the federal government requires a minister, through the permanent secretary of the supervising ministry, to refer the matter to the governing board of the affected agency in line with its enabling law and chapters three and 16 of the Public Service Rules on discipline and government parastatals.
The board will then issue the affected official a query and subsequently advise the minister of its findings and recommendations.

But whether the board is itself the source of the allegation of misconduct against the chief executive or the chief executive is the chairman of the board, the minister, on the advice of the permanent secretary, still has to ensure a query is issued, requesting an explanation from the accused official.

“The Minister after due consideration of the submission from the Board shall, on the advice of the Permanent Secretary, forward the ministry’s position along with the recommendations of the Board and explanation of the Chief Executive Officer to the Secretary to Government of the Federation for processing to Mr President, for a decision,” the circular stated.

Upon receipt of the submission from the minister by SGF, the procedure then establishes another layer of the probe, requiring the SGF to “without delay, cause an independent investigation and advise Mr President on the appropriate course of action, including interdiction or suspension in accordance with the principles guiding Sections 030405 and 030406 of the Public Service Rules, pending the outcome of the independent investigation.”

Based on the outcome of the independent investigation, “it shall be the responsibility of the SGF to further advise Mr President on the next course of action,” the circular stated.

Continuing, the memo said it is the SGF that will “implement and/or convey the approval and directives of Mr President on every disciplinary action against the Chief Executive Officers in the Public Service.”
In this case, neither the governing board nor the SGF was carried along before action was taking on Ms Usman.

The chairman of the NPA board, Jide Adesoye, was not available to comment on this report. Repeated calls to his known telephone number were not answered. A source close to him said he was travelling abroad.

The spokesperson for the ministry was similarly unavailable.

The allegations against Ms Usman remain unclear as of 2 pm on Friday. But this newspaper learnt that Mr Amaechi and Ms Usman had been at loggerheads in the past few months over the procurement procedures for at least two multimillion-dollar contracts at the NPA.

Government insiders familiar with the matter said while Mr Amaechi wanted contractors handling the projects retained, Ms Usman insisted on a competitive tendering process in line with the Public Procurement Act 2004.

This newspaper also learnt that Mr Amaechi recently accused the NPA management of low remittances of revenues to the country’s Consolidated Revenue Fund and demanded an audit of the agency.

Our sources said both the NPA management and the Authority’s governing board rebuffed him, saying the agency had remitted funds to the government in line with its budget and as detailed in its audited financial statement.

Mr Buhari reappointed Ms Usman for a second five-year term in January several months before the end of her first tenure. That development is said to have surprised Mr Amaechi, with whom Ms Usman has endured years of tension, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/460072-exclusive-how-buhari-amaechi-violated-govt-policy-in-suspending-npa-md-hadiza-usman.html

My head is paining me.
Can someone help a dunce like me out because "ayam not understanding" this story.

i). Who is for and who is against the overall good of our country?

ii). Who is the bad guy and who is the good guy here?

iii). Is the good guy winning or is the bad guy winning?

iv). Are we eliminating corruption or are we eliminating people trying to eliminate corruption?

The worst thing that can happen to a person is to read something as serious as this and not comprehend because his heading is paining him.
No, that is not the worst. The worst thing that can happen to a person is to live in Nigeria with it's present crop of clueless leaders at a time of sheer hopelessness like this.

If they can sack Hadiza Usman why can't they sack Isa Pantami, this is not fair because the future is female.

Buhari doesn't obey the law

I don't know how you guys that voted him twice thought he was the messiah that has changed from his tyrannical ways.

A leopard never changes it's spot, how he deceived the populace into voting for him is the twelve wonders of the world.

We are living in lawlessness in this shit hole country.

The lawlessness and injustice of the Buhari led government will definitely get to those that foisted this colossal failure on reasonable nigerians.

Your wickedness in trying to spite the Igbos has led you all to this vegetable of a man and it will definitely get to the you guys.

When Amaechi and Buhari were summoning u to za oza room and u denied them, don't you know that counts as query?
Madam go and answer the summon. Ndi future is female. Female thieves are worse than their male counterparts.
And my only anger is that more then ¼ of d money she stool will go to buying jewellery and designers pants

They did not and are not following the Federal Character Principle as enshrined in the constitution in their appointments ...Hajjiyah Hadiza, you came in through the window and they kicked you out through the window.

…the government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies.

[img]https://media1./images/b5dfe4f9faf71308c1c38b30f388814c/tenor.gif[/img]

As usual let us expect the hypocritcal wailing wailers/ipob merchants/pdp criminals to get an erection for this thread and start bashing Buhari for acting immediately to the alleged corrupt practises.

If the government had told us that they were following the due process and allowing the woman to respond to the allegations, the same miscreants will say Buhari is trying to delay the case and cover her because she is Fulani..

country full of dramatic leaders

story!
All these noise on non-remitance is all hog wash!
That Lady can not single handedly stop non-remitance for all these years.
Wasnt it during these same period of non-remitance she was adjusged to have been one of the very performing bosses in the civil service?
Wasnt it during this same period of non-remitance she got her tenure elongated even six (6) months before expiry?

The real story would bring lots of Nigeria big men out to the media, they dont want these to happen hence they gave the ibadan expressway media something to write about!

Did you all know that the NPA has been a tug of war with IOCs in Nigeria of which the last 60 days has been the most brutal part of it all?
Nigerian jornalist are too weak and very petty. Always good at screening whatever the paymaster request of them.
Despite the NPA and IOC face-off on stevedoring issue that would not pass simple due diligence check, our journalist can not investigate and report 'as is'.

The IOCs were going to shut down their offshore production in Nigeria should NPA not do the right thing about stevedoring, this would have sent Nigeria off the cliff. Wonder why the presidency took the case very serious.

We are not ready indeed, just another case of Patricia Etteh....take the fall of the park and bow out. No convition, Just go!

If they can fire Hadiza why can't they sack Pantami, after all they claimed their shits are in the past

Indeed, the future is pussy with men like this....

..
Almost all key sectors, positions and parastatals in this country is headed by one northerner or the other..


There has nevr been any president that is as divisive, tribalistic and clueless as buhari..

Hmmmm

Make dem commot her

By Taiwo-Hassan

Yoruba Muslims are the problem of this country

They must find way to do notice me for fulani Muslim since it was ameachi that instituted the fulani woman sack


Buhari that has violated all rules of engagement has never been questioned, adeosun that was gagged out was never a question

Issorite

no be today the regime has always been lawless

Not a new thing, breaking policy is buharis hobby
If you want to make money online check my signature all you have to do is roll every hour. My friend got 8k after two weeks,click and start earning

Lol. . .which Buhari that one know watin be policy?! Na presidency remove you the same way they put you. It is often as a result of sharing formula gone bad.

Personally I'm not shocked by buhari's action or inactions again... Make we wait til 1st of October before him address us again... Lowkey Queen of Nigeria

Useless set of old greedy fools

Favouritism thingy.

3 million international email list available for 20k only.

>
So the NPA is being investigated for alleged FINANCIAL issues...
And yet the Chief FINANCIAL Officer is promoted to acting MD/CEO?!

Nigerians can be so incredibly GULLIBLE! SMH
>

It's like this noise of her sacking is been sponsored. They sacked her, we move on. But the media will not move on. They will still bring out another story of how she insulted someone when asked about missing fund

Na waoo

The `President appointed her,not Amaechi.
Only he can fire her ,not Amaechi
We are told he took this decision not Amaechi

Hassan Justice, Nice article

Nigerians could be very funny, do you need any explanation to fire anyone for corruption

Lamajiji779:
Wow

see diswan,we talking security, you talking hacking into your partners WhatsApp and fb just to see if they be cheating