By Jude Opara, Abuja

Indications have emerged that the suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman, has more questions to answer as the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, inaugurated an 11-member probe panel to investigate the financial infractions allegedly perpetrated during her tenure.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari on May 6, approved the recommendations of Amaechi to set up an administrative panel of inquiry to investigate the management of the NPA under the stewardship of Hadiza, who haf been suspended from office.

Others include “examine and investigate issues leading to the termination of other contracts of NPA and confirm compliance with the terms of the respective contracts,  court ruling and presidential directives.

“Examine and investigate compliance with communication channels, as obtained in the public service. “Examine and investigate the procurement of contracts from 2016 to date.

 “Come up with suggestions and advice that would strengthen the operations of NPA and forestall such occurrences in the future and any other matter that may be necessary for the course of the assignment.”

In his brief remarks, Amaechi noted that the decision to take a look at the books of the agency was in furtherance of the mandate of the ministry to oversee the activities of agencies and parastatals under its supervision.

 “This is in the discharge of our responsibility as a ministry and I don’t see why anybody is complaining. What is wrong in looking at what is happening in NPA? I don’t see what is wrong in that. As the Minister of Transportation for four years, I hardly know what is happening and I want to know now.

“The president agrees with me that it’s my responsibility as minister to find out  what is going on. It worries me that people are saying we should not ask questions. Nobody has been indicted”, he said..

PDP Wants Amaechi, Usman Sacked, Prosecuted

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate arrest, dismissal, investigation and prosecution of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as well as the suspended Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, over alleged looting of over N165billions in the agency.

The party equally challenged the Minister of Transportation to explain his reported connection in the alleged involvement of his wife, Mrs. Edith Amaechi, in the N48 billion contract scandal currently rocking the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan said the ruling-All Progressives Congress (APC) has turned the government agencies into a cash cow.

He also took a swipe at the government to have reacted very late to the issues that it claimed has become an embarrassment to the country.

“The foul stench of corruption oozing out of the NPA, NDDC and other agencies of government in the last six years has shown that our MDAs have become the cash cows and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of greedy leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their cronies in government in their unbridled looting of our patrimony under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch.

“Our party asserts that the fact that it took the minister a clear six years (2016 to 2021) to query the NPA Managing Director over the alleged looting of N165 billion unremitted operating surplus of the agency, which is under his purview, is suspect and raises public belief that he (Amaechi) only acted apparently to shied himself after indicting audit documents had already been exposed.

“This is in addition to reports from the office of Auditor General which also unearthed the looting of unremitted deduction to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to N3,667,750,470. $148,845,745.04, Euro 4,891,449.50 and £252,682.14 under the suspended NPA Managing Director and Amaechi’s ministerial supervision.” 

The statement further claimed that an audit report also exposed another N15.18 billion allegedly siphoned through shady Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects by the NPA, an agency under Amaechi’s ministerial purview.

“Our party insists that both the Minister and the indicted NPA Managing Director should be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and possible prosecution.

“Moreover, Nigerians are appalled that fingers of fraud allegation are also pointing to the wife of the Transport Minister in a N48 billion contract scam under the sacked NDDC’s Managing Director, Nelson Bambraifa, who was reportedly nominated into that position by the Minister of Transportation, Amaechi, but fired on allegations of corruption.”

The PDP stated that it was disgraceful that under the APC that promised to fight and end corruption, the public space is awash with revelations of sharing of government revenues “among concubines, wives, girlfriends and family members of top APC leaders”.

 Reps Urge EFCC to Investigate Hadiza

The minority caucus of the House of Representatives has called for the investigation into an allegation that suspended Chairman of Nigeria Ports Authority Hadiza Bala Usman, misappropriated over N165 billion of operating surplus, and also the diversion of funds running into billions of naira, by top officials of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA).

The lawmakers described it as “another sad commentary on the brimming corruption in the APC administration, the mindless lootings of such stupendous resources at a time the country was writhing in the throes of worsening insecurity”. It, therefore, asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately “take in the indicted Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, and commence a system-wide investigation with a view to prosecuting her, if found wanting”. The Caucus in a statement signed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP- Delta) on Monday, insisted that “such huge economic crime against the nation, should not be left to an administrative panel of enquiry, but committed to an anti-graft agency for an independent investigation”.

The lawmakers expressed concerns that “by committing the alleged NPA looting to an administrative panel, political manipulations and partisan influences had taken precedence over what should have been a system-wide investigation into a monumental fraud”. According to them, “Our Caucus holds that the mere suspension of the indicted Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, and the resort to an administrative panel of enquiry even after the report by the Supervising Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, exposed an unremitted and possibly diverted operating surplus of N165 billion, amounts romancing and perfuming corruption by the APC-led Federal Government. “The Minority Caucus also believes that the recourse to an administrative instead of a full-scale criminal investigation can only serve as a decoy to shield some other APC government officials involved in the looting spree at NPA and other affiliated agencies in the transport sector. “This is because, apart from the unremitted N165 billion cited by the Minister, other documents and reports from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation had also uncovered several sleazes, including unremitted deduction to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to N3,667,750,470. $148,845,745.04, Euro 4,891,449.50 and £252,682.14.

“This is in addition to audit query of N15.18 billion allegedly stolen through inflated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects/programmes under the watch of the suspended NPA Managing Director. “As representatives of the suffering people of Nigeria, our Caucus is particularly very worried that such monumental lootings are going on at a time terrorists, bandits, unknown gunmen, and criminal militias are reigning supreme across the length and breadth of the country and life has consequently become the cheapest article in the country. “We imagine that such resources if channelled to the security sector and well managed would have made a world of difference in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country”. The caucus added that” the APC administration had crippled the national economy and brought untold hardship and suffering to Nigerians and therefore demanded more drastic step by anti-graft agencies to recover the stolen funds as well as prosecute all involved in the looting spree. “It is a shame that a party that came to power with the promise of fight corruption, build the economy, and fight insecurity has ended up destroying whatever gains that were made before it came to power”.