N165bn ‘Missing NPA Funds’ : PDP, Reps Minority Caucus Demand Amaechi’s Sack

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order for the immediate investigation, prosecution and sack of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, over alleged disappearance of over 165 billion naira from the coffers of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).

The party also asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately investigate the suspended Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman, for her role in the alleged sleaze.

This is as the party also asked the transport minister to come clean on his reported connection in the alleged involvement of his wife, Mrs. Edith Amaechi, in the exposed N48 billion contract scam currently rocking the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

PDP, through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of turning ministries, departments and agencies of government into Automated Teller Machines for officials and their cronies.

“The foul stench of corruption oozing out of the NPA, NDDC and other agencies of government in the last six years has shown that our MDAs have become the cash cows and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of greedy leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their cronies in government in their unbridled looting of our patrimony under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch,” the party stated.

It also lamented reports of looting and unremitted deduction to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to N3,667,750,470. $148,845,745.04, Euro 4,891,449.50 and £252,682.14 under the suspended NPA Managing Director and Amaechi’s ministerial supervision.

Ologbondiyan recalled an audit report from the Auditor General which exposed another N15.18 billion allegedly siphoned through shady Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects by the NPA, an agency under Amaechi’s ministerial purview.

The opposition party alleged “the fact that it took the minister a clear six years (2016 to 2021) to query the NPA Managing Director over the alleged looting of N165 billion unremitted operating surplus of the agency, which is under his purview, is suspect and raises public belief that he (Amaechi) only acted apparently to shield himself after indicting audit documents had already been exposed.”

The PDP therefore rejects what it called the attempt at a cover up by the recourse to an Administrative Panel of Enquiry recommended by the Transport Minister to investigate the NPA fraud, in which he also has some questions to answer.

Meanwhile, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC), to as a matter of urgent public importance commence investigation into alleged looting of N156.3bn by Hadiza Bala Usman.

The caucus said it is alarmed by the alleged looting of over N165 billion operating surplus as well as other diverted funds running into billions of naira, by top officials of the NPA.

The lawmakers described as “another sad commentary on the brimming corruption in the APC administration” the mindless lootings of such stupendous resources at a time the country was writhing in the throes of worsening insecurity.

It, therefore asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately “take in the indicted Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, and commence a system-wide investigation with a view to prosecuting her, if found wanting”.

The Caucus in a statement signed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP Delta) on Monday, insisted that such huge economic crime against the nation should not be left to an administrative panel of enquiry, but committed to an anti-graft agency for independent investigation.

He said:
“Our Caucus holds that the mere suspension of the indicted Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, and the resort to an administrative panel of enquiry even after the report by the Supervising Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, exposed an unremitted and possibly diverted operating surplus of N165 billion, amounts romancing and perfuming corruption by the APC-led Federal Government.

“The Minority Caucus also believes that the recourse to an administrative instead of a full-scale criminal investigation can nly serve as decoy to shield some other APC government officials involved in the looting spree at NPA and other affiliated agencies in the transport sector.

“This is because, apart from the unremitted N165 billion cited by the Minister, other documents and reports from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation had also uncovered several sleaze, including unremitted deduction to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to N3,667,750,470. $148,845,745.04, Euro 4,891,449.50 and £252,682.14.

“This is in addition to audit query of N15.18 billion allegedly stolen through inflated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects/programmes under the watch of the suspended NPA Managing Director.

“As representatives of the suffering people of Nigeria, our Caucus is particularly very worried that such monumental looting are going on at a time terrorists, bandits, unknown gunmen, and criminal militias are reigning supreme across the length and breath of the country and life has consequently become the cheapest article in the country.

“We imagine that such resources if channelled to the security sector and well managed would have made a world of difference in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country”, the statement added.

It stressed further that the APC administration had crippled the national economy and brought untold hardship and suffering to Nigerians and therefore demanded more drastic step by anti-graft agencies to recover the stolen funds.