Bala Usman Pushed Me Out Of NPA Board To Hide Figures – Binta Garba

A former member of the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Senator Binta Garba, has accused the suspended managing director of the agency, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman of plotting the removal of the chairman and two members of the NPA board after allegations of financial irregularities in the agency were raised.

Senator Garba who served in the House of Representatives for two terms and in the Senate for a term between 1999 and 2019 accused Ms. Bala Usman of running the NPA with reckless abandon and turning hostile at the simplest interrogation of her actions.

Senator Garba said that the secretary of the National Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe who was a member of the board was similarly removed while Chief Akin Ricketts  was removed as chairman.

In a statement issued on Sunday on the developments, Senator Garba said she passed on her observations of Ms. Bala Usman’s actions to the supervising minister of the NPA, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and a very top official in the presidency.

She said:

“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 (MD) 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.

I Was Uncomfortable With Financial Statements Presented By Bala Usman – Binta Garba

“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 (doing) so, there would certainly be trouble and her sudden removal (suspension) 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,” she said.

“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 2 years but I objected, pointing out that, under normal circumstances, procedurally and international norms, it should cover a minimum of 3 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.

Bala Usman Also Plotted Removal Of NPA Board Chairman – Binta Garba

“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.”

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