Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA); Hadiza Bala Usman has said attributed on-going probe of the activities of the agency to personal interest of a serving Senator, whom she alleged to have interests in a particular company that was engaged by the NPA for dredging.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, the NPA boss specifically said one of the companies contracted by the agency for the dredging work; that is, Calabar Channels Management Company has refused to execute the work, hence the decision to terminate the contract.
This, Usman said, did not go down well with a particular Senator in the National Assembly, who continues to work hard to ‘tarnish and sabotage’ the works of the NPA.
Speaking on the genesis of the probe, Usman said, “I don’t know why they are launching the probe, but there are some people who support the Calabar Channels Management Company. It is one of the companies handling our dredging. There is a concern that the company did not execute some contract works”
“So I refused to pay them because there is no evidence to show that they actually executed the dredging of the waters”.
According to her, “some of the sympathisers of this company are Senators, and in particular one senator was behind this sabotage in NPA activities. But whatever he is doing will not distract us from what we are doing because we have proofs that this particular company has not executed the work.”
Commenting on the effect of the probe on the NPA , she said: “We welcome it (the senate probe), because at NPA, we have even gone beyond investigation. When I came on board, I looked at the money spent on dredging and I found out that a lot of money was being spent.
“I therefore developed a plan, where we engaged consultants who would be examining the exact dredging needed for ships to sail and then we would pay only that exact amount. We would conclude everything in the next three months,” she said
Asked on repercussions of the probe, she said “We are not afraid of any further discovery, because we have nothing to hide regarding this dredging issue.”
*Daily Trust
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