Give it to President Muhammadu Buhari, his passion for a diversified Nigerian economy is peerless. His imprints in agriculture are both telling and compelling. Now, he has an ally in Mohammed Bello-Koko, the helmsman at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

Bello-Koko was on May 6, 2021 appointed the acting managing director of NPA when Hadiza Bala Usman was directed to handover to the most senior Executive Director after she was “suspended for insubordination.”

Prior to his appointment as acting MD, Bello-Koko was the Executive Director, Finance & Administration of the Authority.  And barely eight months in acting capacity, Buhari approved his appointment as the substantive top man of the NPA, Nigeria’s ports regulator.

As an industry technocrat, Bello-Koko understands the weak points, the dialectics of ports administration and the imperativeness of the NPA as one of the strong pillars for effective diversification of the economy, the dream of President Buhari.

So far, he has carried on with transformational zeal and clinical empiricism of a nifty surgeon. First, he effected a shift in the psyche of the staff through a retreat. If anything, the retreat achieved a fundamental purpose. It weaned many of the staff of the ‘government workers’ mentality, which is usually a soporific dose for lethargy and indolence in the public sector workplace. He demanded more from his team to position the Authority towards greater efficiency, safety and accountability. He outlined several strategies that would help him and his team place the NPA on a solid pedestal that would help them do more and build capacity for greater market share.

Bello-Koko made no pretence in serving the intent that he was the proverbial man on a mission. He simply put the marker down. He wants to run an efficient, nimble-footed ports administrator that would be lean on operational cost but buoyant in revenue generation to the government coffer.

He set out on a regime of reforms which saw a progressive decline in incidences of corruption buoyed by his deliberate institution of a culture of zero corruption enhanced by infusion of technology into the operations of the Authority.  Hitherto, ports operations especially revenue collection and speed of documentation had been shrouded in opacity and riddled with human intrusion which bred avenues for sharp practices. The new NPA leadership is dealing with this ugly trend using automation, upskilling of staff and value orientation.

Bello-Koko himself summed up the resultant effect of this recently: “We have seen the progress recorded in port operations and the revenue into government coffers; it shows that sooner than later, the port industry in Nigeria would become the most attractive maritime cluster in the region, going by our market share and capacity.”

In a presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Habours recently, he gave a breakdown and roadmap which inspired both hope and optimism of Nigeria becoming the port of choice on the continent. With the creation and take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), port activities around the continent are expected to nose up. Nigeria is expected to take a clear lead in this regard. And with Bello-Koko’s transformational leadership, she looks primed to dominate the continental port operations.

The balance sheet tells the story. A breakdown showed that from January to September 2021, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) performance of NPA rose by 120%, while operating expenses was cut by about 20%.

In his presentation, Bello-Koko noted that NPA’s IGR rose to N256.28 billion as against the sum of N214.65 billion which was projected by the Authority during the period. The figure represents a revenue performance of 120% for the nine-month period or 95% of its total annual budget for 2021.

Within same period, operating expenses (as at the end of September 2021), stood at N55.1 billion as against the budgeted figure of N65.49 billion. The expenditure comprised employees’ benefits, pension costs, towage services, supplies, repairs and maintenance and sundry administrative overheads. This indicates a savings of N10.39 billion or 85% performance of the approved budget of N87.32 billion.

And in compliance with the quarterly remittance of its operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and provisions of the Finance Act 2020, the Authority remitted the sum of N62.66 billion to CRF for the year 2021 (as at October 31, 2021). Further breakdown showed that a cumulative sum of N89.9 billion was transferred to the CRF in six months, making it the highest remittance into the CRF by NPA in a one-year period.

What has resonated the most with industry stakeholders was that all this was achieved within the difficult period of Covid-19 pandemic with its attendant restrictions in trade, movement of goods and general global economic lull.

One of the major planks of President Buhari’s economic engineering is to achieve sustainable diversification of the nation’s economy, making it less dependent on crude oil export earnings. To achieve this, according to the advisory of the National Economic Council, leakages must be plugged, and IGR through duties, taxes and levies must be enhanced.

Bello-Koko seemed to have been propelled by the President’s desire. He has emplaced a functional, tech-driven system to further enhance revenue collection and operational efficiency. The Authority has begun the process of consolidating its various electronic platforms under a unified port community system. This is also in line with global best practices.

The biggest and most efficient ports in the world today are situated in China, Singapore, South Korea, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Belgium. They are all busy and efficient. One thing common to them all is automation. Major ports in the world have long migrated from human-driven operations to digitally-enhanced operations. This has been the mantra of Bello-Koko: the need to infuse technology into the operations of the NPA. And he’s keeping to it.

The NPA is currently running on a bouquet of tech platforms including Oracle Financials and Human Resources Planning, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Revenue & Invoicing Management System (RIMS), e-Ship Entry Notice (e-SEN), and Customs portal for online submission of bills. There is also the Hyperion budgeting software; Command, Control and Communication & Intelligence (3CI), Truck call-up access control system and Harbours System linked with the 3CI for harmonization of vessel operations.

Partnering with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Authority is achieving a landmark in its operations by tying all the systems into an integrated, one-shop Port Community System (PCS ). The IMO is providing technical aid to the Authority to achieve this.

Without any doubt, Bello-Koko has under one year justified President’s Buhari confidence in him, first by appointing him in acting capacity, and second, by approving his substantive status.

Earlier this month, the Authority flagged off the first non-oil export processing terminal, situated in Ibeshe-Ikorodu, Lagos State. This is not only a historical feat, it gives practical essence to President Buhari’s quest to expand the economy, boost local production, widen the market and make Nigeria a major foreign exchange earner through non-oil exports.

The Ibeshe-Ikorodu facility designated EssLibra Terminal, heralds the official launch of the 10 certified Export Processing Terminals, spread across Lagos and Ogun states. Nigeria has for decades depended on crude oil export to finance her budget and sustain her existence. But with crude oil price taking a shellacking at the international market, Bello-Koko’s reformatory leadership is what the nation needs at the moment. It’s a leadership that inspires hope that the nation’s redemption lies outside crude oil. It lies within men and women like Bello-Koko.

• Author: Jackson Olali, writes from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State