A former transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused former managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Usman, of telling numerous lies against him in her book published earlier this year.
Amaechi, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari, stated this on Thursday at TheNiche annual lecture in Lagos, where he was the guest speaker.
The lecture with the theme: “Why We Stride and Slip: Leadership, Nationalism and the Nigerian Condition,” held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island. The occasion was chaired by a former director of the National Policy Development Centre, Dr Uma Eleazu.
Speaking for the first time after his failed presidential bid, Amaechi contended that Usman’s book, titled, ‘Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority,’ contained too many lies against him.
Amaechi denied Usman’s claim in the book that he orchestrated her removal as the NPA managing director.
“Some of you must have read the book written by the former MD of the NPA, ‘Stepping on Toes.’ There has been a huge debate about whether I should respond or not. The lies were too many,” Amaechi began.
“For instance, she [Hadiza] claims that she was not indicted by the panel but she was found guilty of all the 10 counts. I even came with a copy of the memo to the President in which the President endorsed her removal.
“We took the President through all the counts, including the fact that a Managing Director of NPA with a N2.5m approval limit can approve a N2.8bn contract. No appropriation, including the fact that even if I were to approve despite the lack of appropriation, you are overpriced by N58m so tell them to refund the difference, having awarded the contract.
“Why is that document not public? Prominent Nigerians are involved. She gave waivers to prominent Nigerians which she had no power to give and these are dollars accruable to the Nigerian economy but she was bold to write the book and Nigerians followed her to launch the book.”
“We took the President through all the counts, including the fact that a Managing Director of NPA with a N2.5 million approval limit can approve a N2.8bn contract. No appropriation, including the fact that even if I were to approve despite the lack of appropriation, you are overpriced by N58m so tell them to refund the difference, having awarded the contract.
“Why is that document not public? Prominent Nigerians are involved. She gave waivers to prominent Nigerians which she had no power to give and these are dollars accruable to the Nigerian economy but she was bold to write the book and Nigerians followed her to launch the book.
But let’s wait until they bring the original copy because if I give you the photocopy, you will say it is fake. I will show you the original but I won’t allow you to read it because you would see the names of those prominent Nigerians that were indicted by the panel. I will rather read the areas that concern her and leave those prominent Nigerians, they didn’t look for my trouble.
“But to show you how bad the situation was for me as the Minister of Transport, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, the President and Vice President including the Minister of Transport will approve an agreement for Lekki Deep Sea Port, the MD of NPA will change it and when queried, she will say for national interest, so we are for Biafra interest?” he asked.
Also, Hadiza had claimed in the book that Amaechi was angry because she did not buy him a birthday gift.
But contrary to her claim, Amaechi said she used to buy him birthday’s gifts until he became a Minister when he told her to stop buying him birthday’s gifts.
“She gave me a lot of birthday presents, from the time I met her to when I became a Minister. When I became a minister, the last birthday present she gave me was a big returnee bag. So I said no, that I am Now a minister. You are now my subordinate, but she lied. Would you believe that somebody who worked under me from 2013 will not give a birthday present” he said.
He said that the political class now rides on the strength of ethnicity to achieve their aim of winning political offices, adding that the scheme brings to bear division among the citizens.
“Most times, we elect those who openly show that they are ethnic leaders and they are there for their ethnic group.
“Our political elites constantly run to their ethnic bases to provoke ethnic debate each time they fail to win advantages in their struggle for power and privilege at the national level,” he said.
