BUA Group has responded to public statements made by Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Coordination, over the termination of its port concession agreement with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), demanding that she specify the clause allegedly violated by the company.
In a statement released by the company, BUA questioned Usman’s legal basis for the termination and accused her of disregarding court rulings and an arbitration process initiated under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The company described her comments as an extension of her actions as former Managing Director of the NPA, alleging that she attempted to advance the business interests of a competitor through the cancellation of the concession agreement.
“BUA entered into a valid long lease agreement in 2006 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 near conclusion when she assumed office,” the statement said.
BUA further argued that Usman’s decision to terminate the concession was later reversed by court judgments and the intervention of the Buhari administration, which set up a legal team to review the termination process.
The company affirmed that the current Tinubu administration has demonstrated a stronger commitment to due process, which it said now curtails the type of “arbitrariness” allegedly exhibited by Usman during her tenure.
BUA maintained that the new NPA leadership has since reversed Usman’s decision, thereby upholding the sanctity of the contract.
“We have taken note of 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,” the statement added.
The group reiterated that no contractual clause was violated and urged Usman to publicly state the specific breach she referred to in her comments.
