His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello (47 years , North Central, Nigeria) of Kogi State who contested but lost for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress during the party’s national convention in 2022 and was later appointed the National Youth Coordinator Tinubu Sheittma Presidential Campaign. Governor Bello is not only Nigeria’s youngest state governor but has enjoyed popularity amongst young people as one who is easily accessible, supportive and detribalized politician. His electoral career began with a loss to Abubakar Audu in the APC gubernatorial primary in 2015 before Audu won the general election; however, Audu died on the day of the election and Bello was selected as his replacement as party nominee and was sworn in the next year.
Four years later, he was elected in the November 2020 governorship elections where he emerged winner with over 400,000 votes leading the major contenders from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP). His profile has risen rapidly over the course of his term, partly due to his relative youth when compared to other Nigerian politicians along with his controversial statements and questionable expenditures.
Bello was born June 18th, 1975, in Okene,Kogi State, the youngest of six children. He attended Local Government Education Authority (Nigeria) (LGEA) Primary School, Agassa Okene LGA beginning in 1984. He was named as a class prefect of class two and was made the school Head Boy in class six. He attended high school at Agassa Community Secondary School, Anyava, Agassa-Okene and obtained his Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) and Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) certificates from Government Secondary School, Suleja-Niger State in 1994. Bello studied at Kaduna State Polytechnic Zaria in 1995 and obtained an accounting degree from Ahmadu Bello University in 1999. Yahaya Bello further enrolled for a Masters program in Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria where he was conferred with a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 2002. Bello became a chartered fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria in 2004.
Immediately, the newly sworn in Governor took to the tasks in sanitizing the Government of Kogi State. He sought to streamline government processes and protocols and to recover lost and/or stolen government property including monies. He also launched the exercise to rid the kogi state civil service of ghost workers. As Yahaya Bello arrived the seat of governor, he meet a Kogi State that had been poorly managed. The Yahaya Bello administration was quick to grab the bull by the horns without allowing for the precious time to waste away. He delved into the nitty-gritty to set the committee task force for the recovery of lost and stolen government properties and monies. The Yahaya Bello administration in Kogi state launched a major campaign to revamp and upgrade the healthcare delivery system in the state. His administration began with healthcare infrastructure. Within the first four years 400 primary healthcare centers were either constructed, renovated upgraded and fully equipped across the rural communities. The Yahaya Bello administration through the ministry of works and housing expanded over N26.5billion for the construction of 30 major roads across the state. His empowerment program in the state empowered over 10,000 artisans and semi-skilled indigenes.
Under Yahaya Bello administration Kogi State was ranked the 7th top performer among all the state and FCT in Universal Basic education commission UBEC this is as the result of construction of over 375 classroom blocks and renovation of over 700 classrooms blocks across the state. His tenure is set to end in 2024 and there have been many speculations that his capacity to galvanize young people from across regions, religions and tribes will put him in good position to serve as the Youth Minister in the new Executive government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.