Buhari confirms Hadiza Bala Usman as NPA boss

Indications emerged early Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Hadiza Bala Usman as the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) according to WHISTLER.

Hadiza Usman, coordinator of the Bring Back Our Girls group is presently Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai.

A presidential villa said that the appointment was confirmed late Monday night upon the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi.

With the appointment, Hadiza Bala Usman will be the first woman to head the money-spinning parastatal and will be taking over from Habib Abdullahi, who was reinstated by Buhari in August 2015 as the managing director of NPA, after he had been shown the exit by former President Goodluck Jonathan in April 2015.

President Buhari according to Thisday was said to be happy to confirm the recommendation, given the past relationship he had with Ms Usman’s late father, Professor Yusufu Bala Usman, who was a renowned Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) academic, historian and activist before his death few years back.

On his part, Amaechi was said to have nominated Usman in order to balance the geo-political appointments under his ministry.

Two chief executives of the foremost parastatals under his ministry – Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) – are currently from the south.