The end may not have been heard about the fued between former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi and former Managing Director of Nigerian Port Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman.
Usman attributed her problem with the former Minister to her failure to give him a birthday present.
This was revealed in her new book released on Tuesday, April 11, titled “Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority”.
Hadiza said some prominent Nigerians tried to interfere before she was asked to step down from her role as the MD, Nigeria Ports.
“Interest groups and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also tried to intervene. I know for instance that Governors elected on the platform of the APC, the Progressive Governors Forum, chaired by Governor Atiku Bagudu deliberated on the issue of my suspension and constituted a committee to intervene,” she wrote in the book.
The Governors’ team met with the Minister to discuss a resolution of the matter. He insisted that my management of the NPA had to be investigated due to the amount unremitted to the CRF [Consolidated Revenue Fund]. He even tried to Sway the governors’ resolve by suggesting that the budget of the NPA was bigger than most of their state budgets so they shouldn’t bother about me”
“When the governors persisted, he told them that the matter was no longer just within his purview and that they may need to approach the Head of Service of the Federation.
He told another person who tried to intervene that I was so selfish that did nothing for him from NPA and never even gave him a birthday present!
The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.) also made efforts to resolve the issue by intervening at various levels.”
“On 5 May 2021, I took an early morning flight to Abuja to honour an appointment. The meeting ended early enough for me to catch a 2pm flight back to Lagos. It was at this time that I learnt that the President had approved that I should step aside as MD on the recommendation of the Minister of Transportation” she added.
