*Photo: Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello*
On Saturday, 27 January 2024, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello will bid farewell to Government House, Lokoja as Kogi State number one citizen as he hands over power to his successor, Governor-Elect Usman Ododo.
For the eight years that he was in the saddle as two terms governor of the Confluence State, Governor Bello left no one in doubt that he was on the mission to transform Kogi State into the envy of its peers and a pride to its indigenes.
Bello’s imprints cover the entire gamut of Kogi’s socio and economic spheres and they will for many years to come form the yardstick by which the achievements of successive administrations will be measured.
First sworn on 27 January, 2016 as Governor, Bello was again on 16 November 2019 elected to a second term after defeating Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by over 200,000 votes.
Energetic and purposeful, Bello is a good example of the positive effects Nigerian youths can bring to bear on governance if given the opportunity. He is ending his eventful gubernatorial duty as busy and as strong as when he was first sworn in eight years ago to pilot the affairs of Kogi State.
The latest of his giant strides is
the payment, by his government, of the sum of N115m as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) application fees for 15,033 students in public schools across the state, for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exams(UTME).
Coming a few weeks after the administration paid about N497 million to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to ensure no student in Kogi public schools is made to pay a kobo before writing any internal or external examination, Governor Bello has through his free education policy effectively shifted the burden of financing education from parents to the government.
The message being sent across by the governor, even as he rounds up his tenure, is that no student in Kogi public schools should drop out of school because of the low economic status of the parents.
Bello’s investment in the education of Kogi State citizenry is not limited to payment of examination fees, else his administration would not have surpassed the benchmark set by
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in budgetary allocation to the sector by states.
The allocation to education in the Kogi State Budget in the year 2022 was 30 percent for example whereas UNESCO recommended 26 percent benchmark.
Before the advent of his administration, the education sector in Kogi State from primary to the tertiary level
was characterised by non-payment of salaries, striking teachers, shortage of teaching staff, decayed infrastructure
and other challenges inimical to progress and development.
In 2014 for example, teachers in Kogi State were on strike for over six months, thus putting the future of the students at risk.
This is no longer the case as stakeholders unanimously agree that things have changed for the better.
Today, Kogi remains the only State in the northern part of the country with a well articulated education law which became effective in 2020. The law spells out the short-term, medium-term, and long-term
milestones and modalities required to propel the sector to greater heights.
Many of these have germinated and Kogi currently has the least number of out-of-school children among the 19 Northern States, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Through his education roadmap, the governor ensured that all the 48 courses offered in the Prince Abubakar Audu University formerly known as Kogi State University, Ayingba, secured full accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC), making it the first time since the establishment of the institution.
The state-owned polytechnic in Lokoja also got full accreditation of all courses offered in the recent accreditation exercise conducted by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Another regulatory body, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) also found the two state-owned colleges of Education namely College of Education Ankpa and College of Education Technical, Kabba worthy of full accreditation of the courses offered them making it first-ever in the history of the two schools”
At the College of Education Technical, Kabba, 17 courses offered the College got full accreditation in 2017 a year into Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration and he ensured the partial movement of the institution to its permanent site.
Governor Bello equally completed 10 buildings at the permanent site and provided a big bus to ease the movement of staff and students aside from other facilities.
Also worried by the gap created by the number of Kogi indigenes seeking admission yearly and the number that got admitted, Governor Bello established the Confluence University of Science and Technology, (CUSTECH), Osara in the year 2020.
CUSTECH and other institutions of higher learning in the state are getting ready intakes from the secondary schools where Governor Bello placed special emphasis on STEM – Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics.
In addition to improving on the infrastructure of the primary and secondary schools he inherited across the state and in every senatorial district like Kogi West, Kogi Central, and Kogi East,
the Governor also completed the construction of the Ultra-modern GYB Model Science Secondary School Adankolo, in Lokoja, Ebira Community Secondary School Ogaminana in Adavi Local Government, and Community Secondary School Ajiolo Ojaji in Dekina Local Government Area to mention but a few.
Security is another area where Governor Bello excelled.
Being a major link between southern and northern Nigeria, Kogi State had more than its fair share of the insecurity the country has been battling with. So bad was the security situation in the State that it became a haven for the terrorist group, ISWAP and its local affiliates.
To attack the problem of insecurity from the grassroots, Governor Bello reached out to traditional rulers and mandated them to do everything to secure their domain, while vowing not to spare them, if they are found culpable of fomenting troubles. This strategic move paid off as many terrorists and other criminals were fished out while others took flight from the State.
Apart from employing the services of the traditional Institutions to tackle insecurity, Governor Bello also established the Kogi State Vigilante Service, which has helped in combating crime and ensuring the safety of citizens.
He equally motivated the Federal Government owned with logistic and other supports, in addition to the Kogi Government partnership with the Nigeria Police Force to establish two Mobile Police Squadron Bases along Obajana-Kabba road and in Okene.
Bello also facilitated the location of a Naval Base in Lokoja to ensure adequate security of the waterways in the confluence state and personally commissioned the Nigeria Navy Ship Lugard and Navy Barracks.
In recognition of Governor Bello’s outstanding performance in the security sector, he has been honoured with several prestigious awards from around Nigeria and beyond.
The Bello administration has also invested in infrastructure development across the state. This includes road construction and rehabilitation, provision of electricity to rural communities, and the construction of bridges and other public facilities.
The governor has implemented various agricultural initiatives to boost food production and create employment opportunities for the teaming youth. These initiatives include the distribution of fertilizers and improved seedlings to farmers, as well as the establishment of farm settlements.
As part of efforts to enhance food security and promote agriculture, Governor Bello procured and distributed agricultural equipment across the 21 local government areas of the state. They include tractors, ridgers, harrows, ploughs, power tillers and boom sprayers among others.
Governor Bello also created cluster value system through Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) where group of youth and women farmers were provided with implement, incentives and cash to engage in farming in their respective communities and the establishment of the ‘Cluster Agricultural Settlement Scheme’, (CASS) .
Equally of note was the establishment of the biggest Rice Mill at Ejiba, Yagba West known as Kogi Confluence Rice Mill which has the capacity to produce 50 tonnes of rice per day.
All the aforementioned were complimented with the training and empowering youths in livestock initiative, aqua culture (fish farming), cassava plantation among others and the commencement of a greenhouse vegetable agricultural program in Osara in the Central Senatorial axis of the state.
The Health Sector also enjoyed a pride of place under Governor Bello.
With a focus on improving healthcare delivery in Kogi State, his administration renovated and equipped several healthcare facilities, provided free medical services to vulnerable groups, and initiated programs to combat diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.
Some other achievements to his credit in the health sector are:
• Establishment of a World Class Reference Hospital in Okene with the capacity to handle complicated medical and surgical cases in the State as well as promote medical tourism in the State.
• Renovation and Remodeling of Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja to include Construction of an Ultra-Modern Administrative Complex with two (2) Suspended Floors; Construction of Psychiatric Department and Complete Renovation and Remodeling of the whole Hospital.
• Construction of two (2) New Ultra-Modern General Hospitals in Eganyi Ajaokuta Local among others.
The Bello administration also saw to the establishment of Kogi State Health Insurance Agency in other to help reduce out of pocket expenditure by the people of Kogi State requiring medication and medical attention thus putting the State in the right direction for Universal Health Coverage otherwise called Health for all.
Staff Welfare is on the front burner in the State across board, including the health sector.
This January, Governor Bello approved a one hundred percent hazard allowance for medical doctors and other health workers in the state.
The Governor made the announcement during a courtesy visit at the state Banquet Hall, Lokoja, where he addressed the pioneering medical students of Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, and the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association.
Born on 18 June 1975 in Okene, Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello studied Accounting and Business Administration at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
As he hands over the baton to the Governor-elect Usman Ododo on Saturday, the White Lion – as Bello is fondly called by the people of Kogi State – can confidently say that he came, he saw and he conquered.
