Yahaya Bello Biography | Early life, Education, And Career

Yahaya Adoza Bello is a Nigerian politician, businessman, and imidiate past governor of Kogi State.

Yahaya Bello, who is the former governor of Kogi State, is a businessman and a big politician in Kogi state. He was born on June 18, 1975, in Okene, Kogi Central. He is the last child of his mother.

He began his elementary education in 1984 and was a student of the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), Primary School, which is situated in Agassa, Okene. 

Upon completion, he proceeded to Agassa Community secondary School, Anyava, in Agassa-Okene and eventually to Government Secondary School, Suleja, Niger State, in 1994.

Yahaya attended Kaduna State Polytechnic in 1995, but eventually bagged a degree in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1999.

His love for academics propelled him to enroll for his Masters degree program in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he clinched his M.Sc in Business Administration in 2002.

The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria also recognizes him as its member. He’s a sport enthusiast, who’s keen on Boxing.

Political Career

In year 2015, during the governorship election, Bello was declared winner after he was chosen by the All Progressive Congress (APC) party to replace Prince Abubakar Audu who had won the election but passed on before the results of the election were announced.

Yahaya Bello returned as the governor for the second time on the 16th of November 2019, defeating the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Musa Wada with over 200,000 votes. He holds the record as the youngest serving governor and also a  governor born after the Nigerian Civil War.

Yahaya Bello office on January 27, 2024, and was succeeded by Ahmed Usman Ododo.

Controversies

• Election Fraud

• Visa Ban

Several controversies had trailed Yahaya since he ascended the seat of power. Some prominent politicians, including Yahaya Bello were denied visa to the United States of America by the US Department of State on the 14th of September, 2020, reason is that they undermined democracy in Nigeria.

Some renowned Nigerian activists applauded the US government for the ban and encouraged other advanced countries to do same.

Yahaya Bello was unsatisfied by this decision and he accused the American government of partisanship, claiming the Kogi State 2019 general elections was peaceful and devoid of election fraud as speculated.

Despite his assertion, there were multiple reports and video evidence of violence and election malpractice during the time of the election.

COVID-19 tracking software

After a thorough investigation from Premium Times, it was reported that the government of Kogi had spent a mere 300,000 naira on the Covid tracking software but Yahaya Bello’s government claimed to have spent over 90 million naira on the software.

Investigation has it that, despite the fact that the state government dismissed the possibility of covid in the state, there was evidence that the Kogi State government had purchased Covid 19 risk assessment software which will last for a year for the sum of 90,720,000 naira in March 2020.

Denial of covid-19 and rejection of vaccination

Unlike other governors in Nigeria, during the spread of Covid-19 in year 2020, Yahaya Bello aired his unbelief of the existence of the virus, arguing that it is nothing but a glorified flu that is comparable to common cold and catarrh.

He never allowed the NCDC to test the people of Kogi to know if the flu was prevalent, so he banned them from the state. As a result of this, Yahaya Bello was able to keep his state, Kogi, running.

Marital Life

Yahaya Bello is a proud polygamist, he is married to three beautiful wives namely 

Rashida Bello

Hafi Bello

Amina Oyiza Bello.

He is blessed with several children.