President Bola Tinubu has appointed Olatunji Bello as the new Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice-Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). Bello is a lawyer, administrator, environmentalist, political scientist and journalist.
This was revealed in a statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity recently, noting that the appointment is pending confirmation by the Senate.
In his new role, Bello will ensure the holistic realization of the Commission’s mandate of protecting and promoting the interest and welfare of Nigerian consumers and ensuring the adoption of measures to guarantee the safety and quality of goods and services.
This appointment made Bello one of the members of the group of appointees that have worked for President Tinubu when he was the Governor of Lagos state.
Prior to his appointment, Bello was the former secretary to the Lagos state government and the sitting commissioner of environment and water resources under the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in Lagos state.
Bello began his media career in journalism at the defunct Concord Newspapers in 1985, quickly rising through the ranks from features writer to assistant features editor and then politics editor. He was later promoted to become the Group Political Editor, Sunday Concord Editor, and Editor of National Concord.
He is a winner of the US Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship and was appointed the Chairman of the Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers in 2001.
He has international experience including being a Staff Writer with the St. Petersburg Times in Florida and the US News & World Report in Washington, D.C.
His career in public service and political career began when he served as the special assistant to MKO Abiola, who won the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election.
After the annulment, Mr. Bello joined the Nigeria pro-democracy movement called the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which fought for the establishment of democracy in Nigeria.
In 1999, when the military handed over to the democratic government, Mr. Bello joined Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet in Lagos state.
In 2003, he served as the commissioner for the environment and the head of the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASSA) under the Tinubu government.
He joined the Babatunde Fashola administration in Lagos state where he served as the commissioner for environment in 2011-2015.
Bello was appointed as the secretary to the state government in 2015 by the then-governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode.
He joined the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in 2019 and serves as the commissioner for environment and water resources. This was following the confirmation of his nomination as a cabinet member by the State House of Assembly.
Bello holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Ibadan, a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy from the University of Lagos, and a Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) from the same institution. He is a Barrister in Law qualifying from the Nigerian Law School. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002.