Amaechi claims that Hadiza Usman’s book contains “too many lies”

Amaechi stated this during the 2023 TheNiche Annual Lecture, which was held on Thursday in Lagos and had the theme “Why We Stride and Slip: Leadership, Nationalism, and the Nigerian Condition.” Amaechi was a special guest at the event.

Former Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) managing director Hadiza Usman has come under fire from former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi for reportedly publishing misleading tales in her book, “Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority.”

Amaechi stated this during the 2023 TheNiche Annual Lecture, which was held on Thursday in Lagos and had the theme “Why We Stride and Slip: Leadership, Nationalism, and the Nigerian Condition.” Amaechi was a special guest at the event.

There were far too many lies. She asserted, for example, that the panel had not invited her. The 58-year-old added, “I even brought the president’s memo, which supported her expulsion.

“Count one concerns the panel’s finding that she is guilty; count two concerns the ability of an NPA managing director with a N2.5 million approval limit to approve a N2.8 billion contract without appropriation.”

Hadiza Usman was requested to resign from her position two years ago by then-President Muhammadu Buhari while an Administrative Panel of Inquiry led by Rotimi Amaechi looked into the administration of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

Amaechi maintained that Mrs. Usman was committing the same offences that she was accusing him of and that she was caving in to the powerful and influential in society.

Given the involvement of well-known Nigerians, why is that document not published? She granted waivers to well-known Nigerians, something she is not authorised to do and which cost Nigeria’s economy money. However, she had the audacity to publish a book—or perhaps a pamphlet—and her fellow citizens are adopting the book, so how will Nigeria proceed?

But because you’ll claim it’s phoney if I give you the photocopy, let’s wait until they bring the actual copy. I will present you with the original, but I will not permit you to read it since you would be exposed to the identities of the notable Nigerians whom the panel had accused. I would prefer to read the topics that worry her and let those well-known Nigerians alone; they weren’t looking for trouble from me.

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The former minister disputed that he was deliberately responsible for her ouster from her position as head of the NPA while affirming that Usman had been charged by the panel.

For example, she argues that although being found guilty on all ten counts, the panel did not indict her. He added, “I even brought a copy of the memo to the President endorsing her dismissal.

“We went over all the details with the President, such as how an NPA Managing Director with a N2.5 million approval cap could authorise a N2.8 billion deal. No appropriation, including the fact that you are overpriced by N58 million, therefore even if I were to approve despite the lack of appropriation, I would tell them to reimburse the difference after awarding the contract.

“There Is No Reaction From Nigerians”

Amaechi also bemoaned Nigerians’ apathy in the face of opposition to the country’s appropriate system of government.

It’s not new to mention that Nigerians don’t respond to anything. Have any politicians assured you that they are not liars? Which politician claimed to have attended college, which claimed to have served in the NYSC, and which claimed to have a certificate?

“What’s your problem, Nigerians know and still vote for them? Why should I speak now that nothing new has happened, I ask?

Nigerians make the decisions on who to believe and who not to believe, as well as who to vote for and who not to vote for. A Nigerian man’s father will live on even if you enter his home and murder his mother. You seem to be unbothered by anything, so why should I waste your time?