More financial misappropriations have been uncovered under Hadiza Bala Usman, the suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, as the budget audit report revealed that there was “massive contract inflation” of the Corporate Social Responsibility projects awarded between 2016 and 2018.
The audit report stated that one of the CSR projects estimated at N6 million was awarded for N19 million including the purchase of 50 bags of rice at N65,000 each when the market value was actually N18,000.
Also, the NPA awarded and paid N1,150,000 for 50 cartons of indomie at N23,000, when the market price was actually N4,000.
In the documents obtained by SaharaReporters, which are from the audit of the Budget Performance Report (BPR) for 2016 and 2018, the NPA is being investigated for various infractions including the “misapplication of public funds.”
President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 6 removed Usman as the Managing Director of the NPA for no stated reason, but at the heart of Usman’s suspension are infractions and expenses which allegedly did not follow the due process.
According to SaharaReporters it was reported that some stakeholders in the Nigerian ports petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Inspector-General of Police to investigate Usman over alleged disappearance of over N20 billion under her watch.
In a petition signed by the stakeholders, Comrades Olayiwole Oke, Charles Dike and Musa Yola, and obtained by SaharaReporters, the stakeholders had noted that a “mind-boggling N20 billion of NPA’s financial transactions between 2016 and 2018 could not be traced, documented, or explained.”
They had urged the agencies to carry out a detailed investigation of the NPA in their petition which they copied to the Office of the President among others.
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