Business
‘Osinbajo is a Figure head, he isn’t in-charge of the country’ – PDP explodes
The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, says Acting President Yemi Osinbajo is not in charge of the country.
It said actions taken by the Acting President had shown that power was not handed over to him contrary to the claim by the Presidency that ailing President Muhammadu Buhari ceded power to him (Osinbajo) before leaving Nigeria for London on medical trip more than 90 days ago.
Spokesperson for the party, Dayo Adeyeye, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Sunday, wondered why the Acting President had refused to assign portfolios to the two ministers that were sworn in more than two weeks ago.
Adeyeye, who was a former minister of state for works, observed that the action of the Acting President indicated that he was just a figurehead.
He said, “The Acting President is not in charge of the country. He is not in charge of anything. This is why nothing is moving forward.
“How do you explain a situation where two of the ministers who were sworn in after much pressure from the people and the National Assembly have not been assigned portfolios?
“He is not in charge. He is a mere figurehead and cannot do anything. The cabals are still in charge. That is why nothing is moving forward in this country.
“The two ministers are just idle. They have no offices, nowhere to resume to and nothing to do. What is the essence of their being sworn in then? They are ministers without portfolios.
“It is a constitutional breach on the side of the government because each state ought to have a minister each. Now, these two states had been without ministers for long and after you reluctantly appointed them, you refused to give them offices. “
The ministers are Prof. Stephen Ocheni from Kogi State and Mr. Suleiman Hassan from Gombe State.
Twenty days after Osinbajo administered the oath of office on the ministers, they have yet to be assigned portfolios.
Ocheni and Hassan were inaugurated on July 26, 2017, in Abuja.
Their inauguration came after another long delay since May when they were screened and cleared by the Senate.
It also took a resolution and an ultimatum issued by the House of Representatives for the ministers to be inaugurated.
Adeyeye said it was apparent that the All Progressives Congress was not ready to rule, adding that it won the 2015 presidential election in error.
He asked Nigerians to be patient, adding that 2019 would soon come when new elections would be held.
Reps want portfolios for ministers
Meanwhile, Members of the House of Representatives on Sunday called on Osinbajo to assign portfolios to the two new ministers.
Some lawmakers observed that the delay was abnormal and asked Osinbajo to take the necessary action by assigning portfolios to the ministers.
One of the lawmakers, who is from Lagos State, Mr. James Faleke, noted that the ministers seemed to be idle, a development that he said defied explanations.
He also stated that the ministers were appointed on the basis that there were vacancies in the Federal Executive Council to be filled.
Faleke added, “I don’t think that this is the way things should be.
“The 1999 Constitution is specific on the issue of representation of each state in FEC. Kogi and Gombe states were left out for a long time.
“Now that the ministers have been appointed and the Acting President has inaugurated them, they should be given portfolios.
“They were not idle before they were appointed ministers; they were doing something. But, now they are left hanging.
“We urge the Acting President to hasten the allocation of portfolios to these ministers.”
Another member, Mr. Karimi Sunday, recalled that Osinbajo told the nation the day he inaugurated the ministers that they would be assigned portfolios “shortly.”
Sunday told The PUNCH that he did not know how long it would take for the Acting President’s shortly to come to reality.
He said, “It s surprising what is happening these days. It will appear that this government is confused.
“It took months after Ocheni and Hassan were cleared by the Senate for them to be inaugurated.
“There was even a resolution by the House of Representatives for the Acting President to inaugurate the ministers.
“What the Presidency has done is partial compliance with the resolution of the House.
“So long as the ministers have no portfolios, it is still a case of saying no ministers. Nothing really has changed from the situation we had before their inauguration.
“The Acting President knows the right thing to do and he should do it.
“Let him not forget that Nigerians will remember that it was during his time as Acting President that two ministers existed, who had no portfolios.”
However, another member, Mr. Johnson Agbonayinma, said in as much as it was important to assign portfolios to the ministers, not doing so right away did not mean that they were not useful to the government.
Agbonayinma said it was possible that Ocheni and Hassan reported to Osinbajo daily and Osinbajo assigned duties to them to perform.
“Sentiments or complaints should not come in yet.
“Are we sure that the ministers are just sitting at home and not doing anything? Do we know whether the Acting President consults them and assigns some responsibilities to them?
“Let us be cautious for now,” he added.
Ocheni was nominated as a replacement for the late James Ocholi, who died in a car crash.
Ocholi was the Minister of State for Labour and Employment before he passed on.
Hassan, on the other hand, is a replacement for Mrs. Amina Mohammed, the Minister of Environment before she was appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
New ministers’ll get duties soon, says Presidency
When contacted on the telephone on Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said portfolios would soon be assigned to the two new ministers.
He however did not give a specific time that it would be done.
Akande also did not give any reason why the exercise is being delayed.
“Very soon, portfolios will be assigned to the new ministers,” he simply said.
But another Presidency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told one of our correspondents that the exercise was being delayed by a major cabinet reshuffle being planned by the government.
He said it would not be proper to assign portfolios to the two ministers now and then effect the cabinet reshuffle shortly after.
“The truth of the matter is that there is going to be a major cabinet reshuffle soon.
“The thinking is that there is no need to assign portfolios to the new ministers now. It will be done soon,” the official said.
Business
FLOUTING CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, DEFYING COURT ORDERS, AND DISREGARDING ARBITRATION: THE FACTS BEHIND HADIZA BALA USMAN’S ABUSE OF OFFICE AS NPA MD
FLOUTING CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, DEFYING COURT ORDERS, AND DISREGARDING ARBITRATION: THE FACTS BEHIND HADIZA BALA USMAN’S ABUSE OF OFFICE AS NPA MD
By BUA Group | May 31, 2025
We have noted recent public statements made by Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), who was sacked from office. In her comments, she accused BUA Group and our Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, of breaching a concession agreement and distorting facts. These claims were made in response to our Chairman’s interview and article, “Two Years of President Tinubu: A Business Perspective” (watch at https://bit.ly/pbatbua), which celebrated Nigeria’s reform trajectory and referenced prior instances of arbitrary disruptions to business operations, without naming anyone – a situation that has now been curtailed by President Tinubu’s no-nonsense approach to bringing sanity and stability to the business environment in Nigeria.
Ordinarily, we would not engage, but the distortions in her response necessitate this factual clarification, especially as they relate to her actions during her tenure as MD of the NPA.
THE CONTRACT AND WHAT SHE OMITTED
In 2006,
BUA entered into a valid long lease agreement with the NPA to rehabilitate and operate Terminal B at Rivers Port in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Long before Ms. Usman’s appointment, BUA had begun formal engagement with the NPA to address outstanding remedial works and infrastructural deficiencies. These discussions were nearing their conclusion when she assumed office.
Rather than build on that process, Ms. Usman ignored BUA’s requests and obligations under the agreement. In 2016, BUA wrote to the NPA under Article 8.4 of the lease, mandating concessionaires to report environmental and safety concerns and to seek approval for remedial works. Rather than act constructively, Ms. Usman used that letter as a pretext to issue a termination notice and summarily shut down the terminal, without providing any prior warning, consultation, or invoking the dispute resolution clause.
She forgot or failed to disclose in her response that the NPA, under her leadership, was itself in material breach of core obligations including, failing to hand over critical portions of the port, leaving derelict iron ore on the berths, failing to dredge or repair quay walls, and neglecting to provide mandatory security. These lapses were significant impediments to BUA’s operations and, as a result, led to disputes between the parties.
ILLEGALITY, CONTEMPT, AND DISREGARD FOR CONTRACTUAL MECHANISMS
After the unlawful termination, BUA approached the Federal High Court, which promptly granted an injunction restraining the NPA from proceeding with termination. The NPA itself then referred the dispute to arbitration, as stipulated in Section 17.3 of the agreement, which clearly states:
“Any dispute, controversy or claim… shall be exclusively and finally settled under the dispute resolution process prescribed in this Article.”
Despite this, Ms. Usman, against the advice of her agency, unilaterally decommissioned the berths, thereby violating both the agreement and a court injunction. To be clear, the concession agreement granted her no such power to decommission. If she believes otherwise, we invite her to publicly cite the specific clause that authorizes this action.
To further compound the illegality, BUA, after providing the guarantees and indemnities requested by the NPA, was permitted to resume operations briefly. Merely three weeks later, the terminal was again shut down, this time by Ms. Usman’s instruction. This left no doubt that her actions were motivated not by due process, but by personal animosity and abuse of office.
BUA subsequently filed contempt proceedings and was looking at estimated losses of over $10 million. These proceedings were only withdrawn out of respect for national interest and following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians within and outside the government.
PRESIDENT BUHARI WAS NOT MISINFORMED—HE ACTED ON FACTS AND LAW
Ms. Usman’s claim that former President Muhammadu Buhari was “misinformed” when he reversed her actions is false, disrespectful, and disingenuous.
Following a meeting that our Chairman had the privilege of holding with President Buhari in 2018, he presented the matter to the President, who then directed the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to conduct a thorough legal review and investigate the situation. The AGF invited all parties, including Ms. Usman, to several meetings. We never saw her at any of them.
Nevertheless, the AGF proceeded to undertake a comprehensive review of the contract, the litigation, the arbitration clause, and all correspondence and actions by BUA and NPA. The legal advice (attached herewith) found that the termination was unlawful, the decommissioning was without any legal basis, and that BUA’s rights should be reinstated.
It was on this basis that President Buhari ordered the reversal of her unlawful actions. His intervention preserved the sanctity of the contract, saved over 4,000 jobs, and BUA’s $500 million integrated investment cluster involving flour, pasta, and sugar processing facilities, which were all dependent on terminal access. For this, we remain deeply grateful to former President Buhari.
As our Chairman said in his interview, imagine if he weren’t privileged to have access. Nonetheless, this culture of impunity has been significantly curtailed under President Tinubu’s leadership, as many are aware that they could be dismissed or imprisoned if they abuse their positions.
POST-HADIZA: DUE PROCESS RESTORED, INVESTMENT RESUMED
Following Ms. Usman’s removal from office, the NPA, under new leadership, implemented the AGF’s position. In 2022, BUA was granted formal approval to resume reconstruction works. The contract was awarded to TREVI, and BUA has since invested over $65 million—entirely self-funded and with no recourse to public funds or subsidies. Work is ongoing, and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2026.
THE REAL DANGER: INVESTOR CONFIDENCE AND THE RULE OF LAW
We must state clearly that this matter goes beyond BUA. Had Ms. Usman’s actions been allowed to stand, it would have sent a disastrous signal that contracts in Nigeria are worthless, court orders are optional, and public institutions or individuals can act unilaterally without consequence. We must never return to that era.
Nigeria’s reform success today is rooted in respecting contracts, due process, and investor confidence—principles being restored under President Tinubu’s administration, under which BUA has committed over $1 billion in new investments across energy, food processing, manufacturing, infrastructure, and social interventions.
We wish to emphasise that Ms. Usman is entitled to her opinions, irrespective of how distorted they may be. However, she is not entitled to distort the facts or rewrite history. We do not seek a public spat and would like her to concentrate on fulfilling her duties in her new role under the strong leadership of President Tinubu.
We therefore simply restate the facts that Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman had no authority to decommission Terminal B unilaterally. She also acted in defiance of a court injunction and contractual procedure, and her actions caused significant economic loss of over USD10 million, reputational risk to BUA, and investor concern for Nigeria.
Our core message remains the same: public office should be viewed as a position of trust rather than a platform for personal biases. Those granted public power need to resist the temptation to let prejudice, ego, and vendetta influence their actions.
If Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman believes she acted lawfully, we challenge her to cite the specific clause or clauses that guided her unlawful actions. If not, let the facts remain where they belong — in the public record.
Signed,
BUA Group
May 31, 2025
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