Posted by The desperate individuals who are attempting to blackmail the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello Koko, have been warned to stop or face legal repercussions.
He issued the warning in a letter submitted to kuryaloaded in which he said that over the previous two years, some anonymous people operating under the guise of unidentified Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have attempted to smear and blackmail him.
“In the past two years, some faceless individuals operating under the guise of fictitious Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have resorted to blackmail, using the instrumentality of a segment of online media to further their mischief and blackmail, according to the statement signed by Mohammed Bello Koko himself.
They have turned to a very vicious campaign of libel against my person and my family after failing in their desperate attempt to tarnish or hurt my integrity.
“Because they are faceless, I am unable to pursue justice in court on the basis of their repeated and practiced lying.
“I must again state that I have never been charged or found guilty by any court in all of my years as a banker and public servant up until this point. Additionally, this information is widely known. I’m also confident that the Federal Government of Nigeria’s choice to promote me from the position of Executive Director (Finance and Administration) to Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Ports Authority was influenced by my integrity, dedication, and fidelity to the laws governing public administration.
“Writing to the UK Government to request the cancellation of my wife and my visas and the confiscation of our assets is not just mischievous but also cruel and wicked. I’m still not sure why these nefarious plots would be directed against me. Is the offense I committed a reflection of my acceptance and willingness to do everything in my power to serve my country?
“This latest attempt to undermine my reputation while also embarrassing my family is the latest in a string of sponsored blackmails that have been directed at me since 2021, when I was promoted from the position of Executive Director of Finance and Administration to that of Managing Director of the NPA.
Is there no end to what vested interests can achieve in their ferocious quest for influence and power? They falsely claimed in the sponsored report that UK/Ireland Investigators were the ones who had written to the UK government after they had allegedly discovered alleged criminal acts against me, which include fraud, forgery, money laundering, and tax evasion. These claims are all fictitious manifestations of their nefarious motives.
“This current attempt is as false as their first attempt ever, whereas the details stated in the report were the regurgitated claims that they had sponsored and that had been making the rounds in the media from the beginning.
“Their assertion that UK/Ireland Investigators, not the Metropolitan Police or Scotland Yard, are looking into me falls on deaf ears, and it paints the report’s backers as desperate swindlers who are neither civil nor acting in the good of society.
It is regrettable that some online news outlets have allowed these outlaws to use their platforms to practice their despicable trade. I do, however, challenge the conduit pipes of this malice to name the CSOs and the investigators by their real names.
“It is unreasonable to imply or infer that some dubious UK/Ireland Investigators are now pressing for an exclusion order to bar me from ever entering the United Kingdom if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been looking into the situation as described in the report. Inter-agency cooperation is something that is anticipated in accordance with some bilateral or reciprocal agreements.
“All of the reported allegations and innuendos are nothing more than malicious fabrications meant to harm the target in a certain way.
I have previously said that the NPA, under my leadership, is not aware of any secret overseas accounts. I have also asserted that, to the best of my knowledge, there are no such accounts. Therefore, I could not have benefited from something I am unaware of.
“On July 26, 2022, the authority corrected the record by a publishing in the renowned newspapers “The Guardian” and “The Nation.”
https://guardian.ng/news/npa-management-denies-operating-secret-accounts/
https://thenationonlineng.net/we-dont-have-secrets-accounts-npa/
“The UK property they naughtily cited was purchased prior to my appointment to public service and declared with the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). It’s crucial to remember that the home was bought with a 15-year mortgage payment schedule.
“As NPA MD, I oversee a transparent administration that prioritizes due process while carrying out the agency’s primary mandates.
“The Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), which assessed the NPA under my watch as a Platinum Level Organization as a result of the deployment of its Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) in the NPA for the independent assessment, validated assessment, and in-depth analysis of processes and practices of the agency, recently validated our performances.
The BPSR gave the NPA an exceptional performance rating with a performance level of 91.25 percent based on the assessment.
“This signifies that NPA’s performance considerably exceeded expectations due to very high quality of work in all critical areas of responsibility, resulting in an overall level of work that is superior, extraordinary, or unique,” said Director General of BPSR D.I. Arabi.
“For the record, the NPA under my leadership has particularly recorded some small successes in terms of concrete accomplishments that the various publics may connect to.
“As of November 2022, the NPA had earned N286 billion and transferred over N100 billion to the federation’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) account.
Five terminal operators who would be increasingly in charge of maintaining quays, fenders, and related issues including port illumination have their concession leases renewed by the NPA.
“Based on Messrs WACT Nigeria Limited’s request for an investment surpassing USD 110 Million over a period of two years, the agency has approved the renovation of the infrastructure at Terminal “B,” Berths 7 and 8, Onne Port Complex. As of the end of October, 75% of all current projects had been completed.
“By converting empty space within PTOL Terminal into the stacking area, we were able to improve the container holding capacity at Rivers.
“We have provided and installed 86 buoys for the Warri and Calabar pilotage districts, and we’ve finished modernizing the control towers at the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port, both of which were constructed in the 1970s, to increase communication and navigational safety.
In order to ensure safe berthing, we have also put 180 marine fenders on all quays throughout the authority.
Our accomplishments also comprise:
“Finalization of the construction of a 6,000 metric tons bitumen tank in the Rivers Port Complex to increase the company’s bitumen storage capacity, which will simplify their operations and have an effect on the South-infrastructure South’s development.
To facilitate free flow of traffic, “Provision of 24 motorbikes deployed in assistance of effective monitoring of Truck E-Call Up operation along Apapa/TCIPC/Ijora axis.”
Enforcement of full adherence of trucks to E-Call Up regime and Minimum Safety Standard leading to a significant reduction in traffic gridlock along the main Port corridor and the internal access roads through enforcement, proper batching, continuous access control mechanisms and movement of cargo via barge operations.
“Licensing of more truck parks to boost the capacity of truck parks serving the Lagos Ports.
The extraordinary creation of 286 billion and the remittance of 103 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federation as of November 2022 were the results of tightening collection systems and plugging revenue leakages, which were done to increase revenue collection.
10 export processing terminals have been licensed in order to expedite exports at Nigerian sea ports. Four of these terminals have already reached full functionality.
The Harbours division of the ports of Onne and Calabar has obtained ISO certification.
In the eastern ports, there is a decrease in ship waiting times and cargo dwell times as well as an increase in cargo flow.
“Recently, the dedicated work toward enhancing trade facilitation was recognized with the “Best Maritime Agency of the Year 2022” award at the Daily Telegraph Newspaper’s recent event.
In view of the foregoing, I am unable to allow the premeditated shenanigans of blackmailers and vested interests to derail my laser-focused leadership’s commitment to establishing and leaving the NPA’s transparent and responsible management to the country in the years to come.
“To conclude, I will take legal action going forward against any media outlet that publishes false and detrimental reports about me.
“I won’t think twice about asking for the help of all well-meaning and decent persons to persuade my accusers to put their efforts into more worthwhile projects rather than continuing their malicious campaign of intimidation, extortion, and retaliation.
I won’t serve as NPA’s CEO indefinitely, and I truly don’t see why someone would think that “it’s either their way or the highway.” It’s not personal that I work for the NPA. I made the decision to give my all during national duty from the start.