Last week, the nation woke to the news of the suspension of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Bala- Usman, over an N165 billion unremitted funds to the Federation Account.

Announcing the suspension on Thursday, May 6, Ms Usman was accused of among other things, insubordination, flagrant disobedience and flouting of laid down extant rules and regulations, as well as failure to remit surpluses to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who suspended Usman on the orders of the president, also reportedly issued her a query which was upheld by the presidency.

The minister subsequently inaugurated an 11-man panel headed by the Director of Maritime Services in the Ministry, Suleiman Auwalu, to probe the matter.

The minister also stated that, to uphold fairness, six of the panel members, including a co-chair, had been nominated by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) because the MD had not been declared guilty.

The panel, in summary, is to examine whether the policies of the Hadiza Bala- Usman administration at the NPA complied with terms of contracts, court rulings, presidential directives, as well as procurement and communication policies, among others.

N165bn NPA probe: Inside story of Hadiza’s suspension

Ms Usman had maintained that the minister’s allegation was untrue, saying the alleged shortfall was derived from budgetary assumptions and not actual amounts.
The issue has expectedly triggered calls by various groups on the Federal Government to fully probe the suspended managing director, starting from 2016 when she took office.

For instance, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives wanted the suspended MD investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), or any other anti-graft agency over the allegation.

In the same vein, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) went further to call for the sack of both Minister Amaechi and Ms Bala Usman over the conflicting positions surrounding the alleged corruption in NPA under her watch.

We wholeheartedly support the ongoing probe in the NPA. We also believe that an open probe will be most appropriate in the present circumstance, to guarantee fairness, justice and ensure that the truth is upheld; the culprit(s) brought to book and all monies recovered and returned to the coffers ( if found to be diverted or mismanaged or embezzled).

The NPA probe must not be allowed to go the way of others before it: Allegations are made, there is frenzy in the public space, panel is set up, testimonies taken; a lull. End of story. Reports gather dust. The official is eased out; no mention of the outcome of the probe.

Our strong demand for an open probe in what the House of Reps caucus referred to as ‘’an humongous economic crime against the country’ is also informed by the fact that the storm in the NPA is all about tax payers funds, not a private entity whose business is personal or private.

We also endorse the Caucus’ position that the NPA probe ought to have been carried out by an independent anti-graft agency of the government, and not an internal administrative panel as presently constituted by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

We can’t agree more with the position that “The mere suspension of an ‘indicted’ MD, and resorting to an administrative panel of enquiry, even after the report by the supervising minister of transportation exposed an unremitted and possibly diverted operating surplus of N165 billion, ‘amounts to romancing and perfuming corruption by the Federal Government.’

This is one case that must not be allowed to fizzle out as that of others, like that of Mr.Ibrahim Magu, the erstwhile chairman of the EFCC, who was accused of alleged ‘non-remittance of recovered funds’.

Indeed, nothing has since been heard of the case since the anti-graft czar, got eased out of office, before a substantive chairman was appointed for the agency.

Was money lost or not in NPA? The probe should unravel it; make its findings public and recommend appropriate sanctions, including prosecution of culprits by the appropriate agencies.

If the suspended MD is found not wanting, she should be reinstated at the end of the exercise. In all, we reiterate our demand and position: No cover-up. No deodorising of stench. No sacred cows. No witch hunt. Nigerians deserve only the truth. And justice!