Buhari approves appointment of ex-Minister he once wanted for alleged corruption

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of former Minister of Commerce Bello Maitama-Yusuf as member of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

Mr Yusuf, 72, was accused of corruption by the Buhari military administration in the early 1980s. He went into exile to avoid prosecution.

In 1979, he served the administration of Shehu Shagari as minister for internal affairs and later as minister of commerce in 1982.

Mr Yusuf and late Umaru Dikko, then minister of transport, topped the list of fugitives wanted by the Buhari military administration for alleged corruption.

Decades later, he has now been appointed to the railway board that has Ibrahim Alhassan as chairman.

Other members are Kayode Opeifa, head of transportation secretariat of of the Federal Capital Territory; former police AIG Umar Ambursa; and Obiarari Nnamdi, a professor, among others.

He was nominated by Governor Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa State, the governor’s aide on new media, Auwal Sankara, confirmed in a Facebook post.

The appointment letter obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, reads: “Pursuant to section 5 of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act cap. N129, LFN2004, and all powers enabling the Honourable Minister of Transportation in that behalf, and consequent upon your nomination by the governor of Jigawa State.

“I am pleased to inform you of your appointment by the Honourable Minister, as a member of the Directors of Nigerian Railway Corporation.”

Mr Sankara said the appointment was a recognition of “hard work, resilience and steadfastness” of Mr Yusuf in the progress of APC and development of Nigeria and Jigawa State.

The board was inaugurated on Thursday by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who charged members to speed up work on ongoing railway projects, the Guardian reported.