The managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Usman, has debunked rumors that she is in a romantic relationship with the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.
Hadiza who was the chief of staff to Mr El-Rufai from 2015 to 2016, spoke on the subject while appearing on TVC programme on Monday, in celebration of the International Women’s Day.
She described claims about her relationship with Mr El-Rufai as an “over flogged story” that has been on for awhile.
She said: “I am definitely not his girlfriend. The governor is my mentor and my boss.
“He has been very supportive of my career and the career of every other woman that has worked for him.
“As you are aware, Kaduna State is the first state in northern Nigeria that has an elected female deputy governor; so you can see he has that commitment having women in positions of authority so that rumor is completely untrue.”
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The 44-year-old, who is a politician and activist of the #Bringbackourgirls Movement, was appointed the ports authority MD in July 2016, by President Muhammadu Buhari. Her appointment generated controversy as many saw it as ethnically based and questioned her qualification and experience for the role.
She added: “These are the things they say to women to pull us down, they say for everything you have done in terms of showcasing your competence they always reference and attribute it to the fact that you are in a relationship with another person,” she said.
“The bottomline is that you got a job and you perform, so when people reference that you got there because you were somebody’s girlfriend, that is a pull down,”