BUA Group and Hadiza Bala Usman, former Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) managing director, are embroiled in a public dispute over a terminated Rivers port concession.
According to The Cable, the conflict began after Abdul Samad Rabiu, BUA Group chairman, published “Two years of President Tinubu: A business perspective,” claiming the NPA under Usman’s leadership abruptly revoked his company’s concession without notice to favor Usman’s associates. Usman, now President Tinubu’s special adviser on policy coordination, dismissed Rabiu’s account as “barefaced lies” aimed at misleading the public.
In a May 31 counter-statement, BUA restated its accusations, claiming Usman acted unilaterally while flouting a court order and disregarding the concession agreement’s arbitration clause. The company said it had been working with the port authority to address infrastructure problems before Usman’s appointment.