Garba Shehu Opens Up on Why Ex-President Buhari Sacked Hadiza Bala Despite Their Relationship
- Former presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu said late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari approved Hadiza Bala Usman’s removal following Rotimi Amaechi’s recommendation
- The former NPA boss was accused of failing to remit N165 billion, though she was later cleared by a panel
- Shehu said Buhari acted despite his close personal relationship with Bala Usman
Legit.ng's Muslim Muhammad Yusuf is a 2025 Wole Soyinka Award-winning journalist with over 8 years of experience in investigative reporting, human rights, politics, governance and accountability in Nigeria.
Former presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, has revealed why late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari approved the removal of Hadiza Bala Usman as managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), despite their close personal relationship.
Shehu said Buhari acted on the recommendation of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who supervised the NPA during his tenure from 2015 to 2022.
Source: Twitter
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Amaechi had recommended Bala Usman’s removal over allegations that the NPA under her leadership failed to remit N165 billion operating surplus to the federal government.
Bala Usman, who now serves as Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy and Coordination, was later cleared by an administrative panel of inquiry set up to probe the allegations.
In her book, Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority, the former NPA boss also detailed the issues that led to her removal.
She said Amaechi wanted her out because “two of the most important contracts in the authority were due for renewal”.
According to her, the former minister demanded “an extension of tenure of the companies providing capital dredging services without due process.
Amaechi, however, denied the allegations.
Buhari approved the suspension despite their relationship
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday while discussing his new book, According to the President, Shehu said Buhari approved the suspension despite the personal relationship he shared with Bala Usman.
“See what happened with Hadiza Bala Usman and Governor Amaechi. Hadiza was to Buhari like a daughter. And they had an ongoing disagreement with the minister, and the minister wrote to say, ‘Mr President, I recommend that she should be suspended from office,” Shehu said.
Accordin the the Cable, he added that Buhari approved the action after being advised against it by his chief of staff.
“When the president looked at the thing, the chief of staff came to him and said, ‘President, we can’t do this’. Buhari looked at the chief of staff and said, ‘This is my approval. Go and carry it out because the minister is her supervising boss and he has determined that she’s not worthy of that office she’s keeping’,” Shehu said.
“Hadiza Bala was asked to go. That’s the kind of person Buhari was. He was completely detached as to personal interest,” he added.
Source: Twitter
Hadiza Bala slams Amaechi
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu's special adviser on policy coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, has slammed Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Amaechi earlier accused Usman of peddling lies about his personality in her recent memoir.
In her memoir, Tinubu's aide chronicled her experience as the head of the agency under the supervision of Amaechi and how he ensured that he was removed as the chairman of the NPA.
Usman maintained that Amaechi wanted her to be removed by all means because of her personal grudges, adding that one of such was her refusal to lavish the former minister with favours, including birthday presents.
Amaechi: Hadiza Bala Usman’s book full of lies
Legit.ng earlier reported that Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, has accused President Bola Tinubu's adviser, Hadiza Bala Usman, of lying against him in her book.
Usman earlier served as the NPA managing director, an agency under Amaechi's ministry during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, but wrote that her removal was due to her failure to favour the former minister.
In his response, the former minister said Tinubu's appointee lied against him, adding that Usman did not reveal her offences in her book.
Why Tinubu's aide was removed as NPA MD - Amaechi
Amaechi added that Usman's removal was endorsed by former President Buhari after she was found guilty by the investigating panel.
But in her response, Usman, who has now been appointed by President Tinubu, accused the former minister of telling lies to his audience.
She maintained that aside from “exaggerations, manipulation of the truth and outright lies” in Amaechi’s speech, there was nothing she had not addressed in her book if the former minister had cared to read.
Source: Legit.ng
