By Emmanuel Nduka
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mohammed Bello-Koko as the substantive Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
This was disclosed in a statement by Eric Ojakwe, Director of Pess and Public Relations in the Ministry of Transportation.
The statement said the appointment takes immediate effect.
Meanwhile, the new appointment quells speculations of a possible reinstatement of the embattled Hadiza Bala-Usman, the erstwhile MD of the NPA.
Heritage Times had reported that the suspended Bala-Usman was being considered for reinstatement under the administration of President Buhari.
Bala-Usman was suspended in May 2021 by the Nigerian Government as part of moves to “allow an independent audit of the accounts and remittances of the agency” under her watch.
She was accused of breaches contravening government’s financial regulations regarding under-remittances by the NPA under her watch.
In her place, the new MD who was the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the NPA, was appointed to head the agency in acting capacity.
The panel set up by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to investigate alleged infractions by Bala-Usman is yet to submit its findings.
