Buhari Removes Hadiza Usman As Nigeria Ports MD Amid Amaechi, El-Rufai Feud

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly suspended the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) after complaints yet to be made public.

Buhari has directed Mohammed Bello-Koko, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, to assume the position.

Born on March 25, 1969, he is a native of the Koko-Besse Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The development has been linked to the alleged face-off between Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, and Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

DAILY POST gathered Thursday night that the two stalwarts of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are at loggerheads over the 2023 presidency.

A source close to the government said he was not surprised that the Usman’s removal was linked to the Amaechi – El-Rufai feud.

“Hadiza’s removal could be a result of their disagreement. I heard some information about it today and it could get messy.

“My take is that as the head of the ministry that supervises the NPA, Amaechi might have recommended the suspension of Hadiza. Whatever is happening will be clear in a matter of days.

“I don’t think it’s entire politics or a witch hunt. I believe some infractions were perpetrated and presented to the President”, he added.

Usman was one of the co-conveners of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), the campaign launched after hundreds of schoolgirls were kidnapped in Chibok in Borno State.

El-Rufai appointed the embattled NPA boss in 2015 as his Chief of Staff. In July 2016, Buhari appointed her as NPA MD, after her nomination by the governor.

In March 2020, the President denied Amaechi’s ally, Dakuku Peterside, a second term as Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),

Buhari replaced him with Bashir Jamoh, the former Executive Director, Administration and Finance. Some analysts blamed El-Rufai for Peterside’s fate.

DAILY POST learnt Jamoh is the father of the wife of Tunde Sabiu, Personal Assistant to the President.

Amaechi ensured had Peterside got the APC governorship ticket for Rivers in 2015, but the latter lost to Governor Nyesom Wike.

With Buhari in office, Amaechi successfully pushed Peterside’s nomination for NIMASA, an agency also under his ministry.