A former Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) board member and senator, Binta Masi Garba, has accused the suspended Managing Director, Hadiza Bala -Usman of financial irregularities.
In a statement issued and made available to Daily Sun by Sen. Garba who represented Adamawa North Senatorial District, between 2015 and 2019 and former board member, NPA, said that she noticed some irregularities in the Authority’s financial statement, where she raised observations, which did not go down well with the suspended NPA boss.
Garba explained: “I was appointed into the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) sometime in March 2020. In January 2021, Sen. 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. I was removed without the knowledge of the supervising Ministry/Minister of Transportation, which was very uncommon.”
Garba said her complaints about the suspended NPA MD were more with the financial statements of NPA. “I was worried that if she continued, there would certainly be trouble and her sudden removal (suspension) would be inevitable.
Garba said she noticed discrepancies, raised observations, asked questions but she was completely ignored and disregarded, adding that answers were never provided, until her removal was plotted.
