*Disquiet in NPA House *Damaging Reports Nails Usman, *Faces Probe Panel
President Mohammadu Buhari has approved the suspension of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman from office with immediate effect.
Buhari also approved the appointment of NPA Executive Director, Finance, Mr. Mohammed Koko as Usman’s successor.
The suspension of Usman and the appointment of her successor were contained in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mr. Garba Shehu.
The statement which was made public Thursday and obtained by Maritime Bits said the suspension of Usman was approved by Buhari following the recommendation of the Ministry of Transportation which has Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi as the helmsman.
Shehu also made public the setting up of what he called an “Administrative Panel of Inquiry” to investigate the management of the NPA.
“The panel is to be headed by the Director, Maritime Services of the Ministry while the Deputy Director, Legal of the same ministry will serve as Secretary”, the statement added.
Usman who was prior to her appointment was the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai was appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the money spinning juicy federal parasatal in July 2016.
In January 2021, she got another term of office, six whole months before her first term lapsed, setting tongues wagging in many quarters, especially among stakeholders in the maritime sector of the economy.
With her suspension from office, Maritime Bits checks revealed that not only did she fail to get the second tenure she desperately lobbied for, Usman who is also a founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) did not also finish her first tenure, which officially elapses in July 2021.
Already, there is disquiet in NPA House, the corporate headquarters of NPA, located in Marina, Lagos as mot a few stakeholders in the maritime industry wonder what would be her fate at the end of Administrative Panel investigations.
Apart from being a key figure in the Bring-Back-Our-Girls Movement, the embattled NPA Managing Director has not failed flaunt her chubby relationship with those close to the corridors of power, especially Buhari and el-Rufai.
