A former General Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), Asu Beks, has dissected the recently published book, titled: ‘Stepping on Toes’, by the NPA’s former Managing Director, Hadiza Usman Bala, and submitted that former arrowhead committed immense blunders, especially in the area of insubordination and abuse of office which resulted in heavy losses to the Federal Government.
While stressing that he had no intention of joining issues with the ex-Managing Director of the Authority, the former General Manager also emphasised the need to “call a spade a spade”, as he highlighted that Hadiza woefully failed to prioritise impact, over intention.
Part of Asu Beks incisive submission stated, amongst others, quoted a statement from Hadiza Bala Usman as saying: “Numerous attempts to circumvent and therefore undermine my office were made, but the Governor always redirected them to go through the appropriate channel of communication, which was via the office of the Chief of Staff’’.
Hadiza was also quoted as also saying: ‘”As Managing Director of NPA, I never received any direction or orientation on stipulated communications channels in the public service, as a result, I responded to a request from the presidency seeking information/ clarification on activities of the Authority because I thought it was the right thing to do’’.
According to Beks, “In her quest to secure a befitting accommodation for the MD of NPA, after seeing the rent allowance being too meagre for a suitable accommodation, bypassed the office of the supervising ministry to discuss such issue with the VP, and having the audacity to mention such in her book (this action never made Hadiza in her 5yrs as MD, changed the rent allowance of either the management staffs or other employees, even when the review of transport authorisation was discontinued because of ‘assumed’ leakage of the memo.
“This was highly unprofessional; as employees are paying airfares above allowances provided, inexperience) this action of bypassing superior officers, especially as spelt in channel of communication in public service, is insubordination, the indictment of previous management of alternate accommodation and official vehicle without proven evidence as speculated in Hadiza’s book pages 33 and 34”.
