‘Show how we violated concession deal’: BUA challenges Bala Usman

BUA Group has challenged the special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, to specify the clause(s) violated by the company in its decision to terminate the port concession agreement with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)

Responding to Usman’s claims justifying the abrogation of the concession, BUA questioned her decision to ignore court judgments on the issue and the arbitration process initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

While affirming that Tinubu has further consolidated on the due process rejected by her, BUA said the present administration’s inclination to due process has further restricted the kind of “arbitrariness” that Usman exhibited in her assertions and actions as NPA Managing Director.

BUA had alleged how the concession entered with the NPA was terminated by Usman, alleging a plot by her to further the business interest of her friend who is in competition with BUA Group.

The company further disclosed how the courts reversed Usman’s termination of the concession and how Buhari constituted a legal team to review the actions and how she further snubbed the review.

BUA said: “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.

“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.

Oil prices rise after OPEC+ sticks to output hike

“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.

“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.”

BUA further described Usman’s claim that Buhari was “misinformed” when he reversed her actions as false, disrespectful, and disingenuous.

“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,” the company added.

The Star