I will Not Compromise, says GM NDPHC Maryam Mohammed

Following her reinstatement as the General Manager, Audit and Compliance, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd (NDPHC) in November, Maryam Danna Mohammed, has pledged not to compromise as an auditor in the discharge of her duty.

She said this at the Walima of her reinstatement as the GM Audit and Compliance, NDPHC at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Sunday December 6 this year.

Maryam was reinstated on November 10 this year by the President, Muhammad Buhari after four years of forceful eviction from office.

While expressing excitement over her return to office, Maryam told newsmen in Abuja, “I will do another history; I will not compromise; I’m still what I am. The auditor in me is still me; I will not change.

“I’m still going to do my work the way I am. In NDPHC, I was one of the key people that moved the project for us. I’m the person in-charge of compliance, so I ensure that I go round all the project sites.”

Maryam recalled when “They gave contractors money at first in 2006/2007, people thought they are giving them money for free. All of them went to their houses after collecting the mobilisation and slept.

“When I now got the position of Chair-body I now asked what is my duty I want to know. And they said as a compliant person, you need to ensure all the projects are carried out. So, I designed a process whereby I visited sites. I’m very happy to say I’m part of the success story of the electricity we now have in this country.”

On what she would do differently now she is back to office, the GM and Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, vowed to move the nation forward.

She vowed, “We will try and move this country. I’ll try and do my best although you know it’s not easy. I’m a person who doesn’t compromise, and I’m a person who does anything she wants to do with all my heart”.

Speaking about whistle blowers’ protection in the country, the GM noted that whistle blowers are not protected in this country, noting that the top are the ones that take decisions. “We have to work towards that whistle blower to make it a strong one.”

As a indigene of Borno State, Maryam hinted that the government should be responsible for the Almajiris.

She emphasised that most of the people in the North especially her state, Borno, want to go to school but don’t have the means of educating or taking their children to school.

“I remember my daddy back in those days when he said we must go to school. It was a big problem. They said girls are not supposed to go to school. The children should be at home to marry.

She, therefore, suggested that the government has to be involved because most of them don’t have the finances, noting that the culture also is a contributor to it.

Her words, “Even Islam doesn’t even allow you to leave your child on the street. Because of poverty that we are facing in the northeast, you see that children don’t go to school, that is one.

“Then the school the second is maybe religious or cultural issues, now in this one if you look round we have so many ladies that are graduates and we’ve started coming up gradually.”

Maryam was born on August 8, 1967 in Maiduguri, Borno State. She is a 1990 graduate of Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maiduguri.

She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2006, i.e. Associate Member of ICAN: and become a Fellow of the Institute (FCA) In April, 2016.

Her quest for professionalism transcends to the Information Systems Audit & Control Association (ISACA) as she certified as CGEIT ~ Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT in 2009, and CRISC Certified in Risk & Information Systems Control in 2010.

She also holds an Associate Membership of the institute of Chartered Management Accountants (ICMA) and Nigeti.n Institute of Management (NIM).

Maryam is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. She attended several professional trainings in and outside the country.

Maryam started her working career in the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in 1992 as an Officer Il (Audit). She maintained stable career in Audit and rose through the ranks to the position of Assistant General Manager (Audit) in 2010 while in the service of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

Maryam was seconded to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company in 2006 and later transferred her services to the company.

On account of her dedication, hard work and professional excellence, she was promoted to the rank of General Manager, Audit & Compliance in July 2011.