The managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman has denied report that she met with some chieftains of the all Progressives Congress (APC), where she offered them the sum of $25,000 each to support Governor Nasir El-rufai’s appointment as Vice President on the assumption that President Buhari may not return from his medical leave in London.
Recall that the president recently arrived Nigeria from London after his initial 10-day leave was extended indefinitely.
But reacting to the claim, the NPA MD in a statement personally signed by her denies ever meeting chieftains of the apc and vows to sue the author of the story.
The statement reads:
RE: The Presidency has ordered for an investigation into the financial books of the Nigerian Ports Authority under the management of Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman for fraud.
My attention has been drawn to malicious lies being bandied around by a Prince Henry Nwazuruahu on my person. I wish to CHALLENGE him to bring up evidence on any such meeting with any APC Chieftain and any monies being given.I wish to challenge him to provide the authorship to this report whom I shall file a suit against in the court of law for defamation of character.
My lawyers will be contacting @Breakingpost_ng @EkwoAmaka @AmakaEkwo to challenge them in court on defamation of character..
— Hadiza Bala Usman (@hadizabalausman) March 22, 2017
In the last few days, I have faced a barrage of false maliacuous lies against my person in the media and I know the sponsors of this. I will not budge on my position on compliance to Federal Government of Nigeria policies and I will not bow on my stance to rid the NPA of corrupt practices.
I will not be cowed or intimidated into conforming to corrupt practices of cheating the Federal government of its revenues.
I CHALLENGE @EkwoAmaka @Breakingpost_ng @AmakaEkwo to provide evidence on my meeting with APC Chieftain and evidence to the alleged bribe…
— Hadiza Bala Usman (@hadizabalausman) March 22, 2017
I have been issued with death threats and veiled messages conveying that my life is at risk because of the stance I have taken..
— Hadiza Bala Usman (@hadizabalausman) March 22, 2017
I have been issued with death threats and veiled messages conveying that my life is at risk because of the stance I have taken.
No false media attacks or threats to my life will stand in the way of my doing the right thing.
Finally, we have not received any such notification by the presidency of an investigation into our financial books; and indeed we are open to any of such investigation as we have nothing to hide.
Hadiza Bala Usman,
Managing Director,
Nigerian Ports Authority,
Lagos.
21/03/2017.
See the discounted message:
“The Presidency has ordered for an investigation into the financial books of the Nigerian Ports Authority under the management of Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman for fraud.
Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman, the MD of The Nigerian Ports Authority who once served as Governor El Rufai’s Chief of Staff is alleged to have given $25 thousand to several APC chieftains to support El Rufai’s emergence as Vice President under the assumption that President Buhari may not return to Nigeria from his medical leave.
Buhari’s medical leave which lasted for more than 45 days instead of the planned 10 days raised a lot of questions about the President’s ability to return to office. While there were rumours that he was in coma after a series of operations, there were even rumours of his passing and a conspiracy by the Presidency to conceal his health status from Nigerians as much as they could.
Governor El Rufai and his former Chief of Staff had seen the President’s ill health as an opportunity to further push the Former’s Political Career. Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman who was appointed by President Buhari, met with several APC chieftains at the request of El Rufai and reportedly gave $25,000 each to many of them to influence the picking of El Rufai as the Vice President should President Buhari fail to return to Nigeria and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was sworn in as President.
This grand plan would see El Rufai contest for the 2019 Presidency as it would be widely accepted in the APC Northern Nigeria that the north had not completed its 8 year tenure.
President Buhari’s return marked the end of El Rufai’s scheming and dashed his hopes, the Kaduna Governor wrote a lengthy letter and released a lengthy memo to criticise the President’s policies weeks after the President returned.”