Buhari Sacks NPA Boss, Appoints El-Rufai’s Chief Of Staff As Replacement

The Federal Government on Tuesday appointed Hadiza Bala-Usman as Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

Ms. Bala-Usman takes Habib Abdullahi who was reappointed to the position in August 2015 after he was earlier removed from the post in April of the same year.

The information is contained in a statement signed by the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Yetunde Sonaike, in Abuja.

Ms. Sonaike stated that others appointed were Mohammed Bello-Koko as Executive Director, Finance; Prof. Idris Abubakar, Executive Director Engineering; Dr Sekonte Davies as Executive Director, Marine Operations.

She noted that Usman was born on Jan. 2, 1976 in Zaria, Kaduna State and has a B.Sc. Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and a Post Graduate in Development Studies from University of Leeds, UK in 2009.

She worked at Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) from July 2000 to August 2004 as Enterprise Officer and hired by the UNDP for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from October 2004 to January 2008 as Special Assistant to the Minister on Project Implementation.

The new NPA boss, Ms. Sonaike added, worked, between 2011 and 2015) as Director of Strategy of the Good Governance Group, a non-governmental organization founded by Kaduna State State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and his friends.

She was, in 2015, appointed Chief of Staff to Governor El-Rufa’i, a position she held until her present appointment.

Ms. Bala-Usman is also member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Anti-Corruption.