Mohammed Bello Koko Proving His Mettle, Becomes Substantive MD of NPA

HighLife
2022 is shaping up into a year of serendipity and bounty for many people. With his recent appointment as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, Mohammed Bello Koko has gained a firm footing in one of Nigeria’s foremost federal agencies, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Following Koko’s comment earlier this year that every acknowledgement, appreciation, or award that accompanies him in 2022 will only be on account of his merits, Buhari’s appointment is a recognition of Koko’s work.

There are levels and heights to nearly everything in this life. If this was never clear enough before, it is now. Koko’s diligence and commitment to work while he was the executive director in the Finance and Administration department of NPA set him apart for greater things. Today, he replaces his boss and aims to better refine the agency’s role in the growth and development of the country.

It has to be said that the NPA has been mired in controversies for some time. First, it was the immediate past NPA MD, Hadiza Bala Usman. The well-decorated Kaduna native took up the NPA mantle in 2016 but had to step aside in May 2021. She had lost her footing when Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi accused her of refusing to remit an operating surplus of N165 billion.

While Usman was the centre of discussions about work ethics in Nigeria and the importance of lowering heads to workplace superiors, Buhari appointed Koko to temporarily take over her position. And that is what Koko has been doing ever since. Now that the president has decided to make Koko’s position permanent, one can only say that there was something he (the president) saw that inspired this appointment.
There is no doubt that Koko will revolutionise NPA. Where others could only trek with the agency, Koko will most likely fly with it. This is what ability is.