President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of the acting managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko as the substantive MD of the government agency. Bello-Koko will replase Hadiza Bala Usman who was accused of misappropriating N165 billion while she was at the helm of the organisation.
The new appointment was disclosed today by Eric Ojiekwe, director, press and public relations in a statement today.
Prior to his current acting position, Bello-Koko was the the executive director, finance & administration of NPA, according to the statement.
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.Advertisement
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.
