TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mohammed Bello-Koko as the substantive managing director for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

The federal ministry of transportation disclosed this on Tuesday in a circular signed by Eric Ojiekwe, director, press and public relations.

“Prior to this appointment, Bello-Koko was the executive director, finance & administration of NPA,” the statement reads.

His appointment is coming despite reports that he owns properties in the United Kingdom which he acquired by secretly running offshore businesses in the British Virgin Islands.

This was revealed in the Pandora Papers project led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Bello-Koko will replace Hadiza Bala Usman — suspended in May 2021 over the allegation of missing N165 billion.

Usman’s suspension followed a recommendation by Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, to set up an administrative panel of inquiry to investigate the management of the NPA.

After the suspension, Buhari appointed Bello-Koko to take over as acting head, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Last year, TheCable had reported how the minister later dropped his claim that the agency under Usman failed to remit an operating surplus of N165 billion to focus on “insubordination”.

Usman denied all allegations and challenged anyone with evidence that she failed to remit funds to present it to the public.

The committee did not find any evidence in its account reconciliation.