The head of a ports authority in Africa has been suspended.
Hadiza Bala Usman was suspended on May 6 from her role as CEO/MD of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) following claims she provided Nigerian conglomerate Dangote Group with an unfair advantage.
On 10 May, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Transportation said: “The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has inaugurated an Investigative Panel to look at the procurement processes in the Nigerian Ports Authority from 2016 to date.
It added: “The Panel which is headed by the Director, Maritime Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Auwal Suleiman, has 11 members with 6 from The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) and five from the Federal Ministry of Transportation.”
Dangote’s website states the Group is one of the concessionaires under the concession arrangement for private sector involvement in the management of Nigerian ports. Under its wholly-owned subsidiary, Green View Development Services Limited, the Group currently manages Terminal E of the Apapa Port, Lagos. Ports operations include stevedoring, terminal operations and bulk cargo operations.
Energy Voice reported that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari agreed that Ms Usman should step back while an investigation is carried out.
In March, Tanzania suspended the Tanzania Ports Authority’s (TPA) director general, Deusdedit Kakoko, after an audit report showed embezzlement of government funds.
