Amaechi soft-pedals on ‘unremitted’ N165bn claim, tackles Hadiza for ‘insubordination’

The war between Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, and Hadiza Bala Usman, the suspended managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has taken a turn, with the minister apparently dropping his claim that the agency did not remit an operating surplus of N165 billion to the consolidated revenue fund account (CFR).

A member of the administrative panel set up by Amaechi to probe Usman has told TheCable that the focus will now be “insubordination”.

“We are looking at two things. One, the suspended MD was in the habit of communicating directly with the president and bypassing the honourable minister. This is gross indiscipline and a breach of public service communication line. That is enough to get her sacked,” the member, who cannot be named, said.

“Two, the minister directed her to restore all Intels’ contracts that were suspended or terminated. What she didn’t know was that the president was in the know of it. She failed to comply. This is insubordination and she is not above discipline.”

However, TheCable learnt that Buhari withdrew his approval for the reinstatement of Intels’ contract after Usman wrote to the chief of staff, Ibrahim Gambari, to explain NPA’s position.

Gambari forwarded her response to Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general, for legal opinion.

Malami, TheCable understands, said the NPA was right and that no contracts were terminated or violated.

Buhari then withdrew his approval for the reinstatement of Intels’ contract and that is believed to have infuriated Amaechi, who accused Usman of insubordination.

He, nonetheless, was still able to get the president to approve Usman’s suspension and probe.

The insider further said: “If you look at the terms of reference properly, we are to examine and investigate compliance with the communication channel as obtained in the public service. Insubordination is not a small offence.”

The panel member accused Usman of bypassing the minister and dealing directly with the president despite a “clear reporting hierarchy”.

Asked about the N165 billion non-remittance claim, the member said: “Available evidence shows that the allegation may not be true… it is a mater of reconciliation of what the Budget Office thought should be the remittances with what the actual remittances should be.

“Since audits have been done over the years, there is obviously nothing more to that. It is not as if NPA’s monies are in private banks. Everything is with the CBN, so if there were no remittances, it is just about looking at NPA’s accounts with the CBN.”

Although the minister asked the eleven-member panel to “examine and investigate the procurement of contracts from 2016 to date” as part of the terms of reference, the source said it was going to be a “tricky job”.

“At NPA, any contract beyond N50 million for goods and services and N200 million for works are referred to the ministerial tenders board (MTB), which is headed by the permanent secretary of the ministry,” the insider said.

“If we go into probing contracts since 2016, we may end up probing the minister himself. About 70 percent of the contracts for capital projects go to the MTB, after which the minister presents them to the federal executive council (FEC), presided over by the president himself, for approval. We will check if all the procedures were followed, but I am personally not optimistic about that. The suspended MD, from indications, is a process person.”

A VERY PERSONAL WAR

Amaechi, who is one of the very few ministers with direct access to Buhari since 2015, has denied allegations that he is fighting a personal war with Usman, whom he nominated for the position in 2016 after working with her in the APC presidential campaign council.

Several reports have traced the “cold war” to the renewal of $1.5 billion channel management contracts in which the minister is said to have gone against a competitive bidding process in favour of companies nominated by him.

Amaechi has denied the allegation, insisting that he did not at any time seek to bypass the process.

However, he has recently been making a strong case for Intels, the ports logistics company which has several contracts with NPA.

Former vice-president, Atiku Abubukar, was a major shareholder in the company.

He has sold down his shares, complaining of a political witch-hunt.

Amaechi got the president to approve that all Intels’ contracts that were “terminated” by NPA be restored.

Gambari then wrote to Usman to ask for details on the contracts as highlighted by the minister.

‘INTELS CONTRACTS NOT TERMINATED OR SUSPENDED’

Usman, in her response to Gambari, denied that any contract was terminated or suspended.

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More courageous figures like Amechi needed in government