“Governor Yahaya Bello gave me an office without any personal relationship. A leader who values competence over ethnic or religious differences. The most humble man I have ever met”.
These were the words of Anthony Edogbo upon his recent appointment by the Kogi State Governor.
Meet The New Appointee
Anthony Edogbo is a Nigerian I.T expert and content developer, presently appointed as Technical Assistant on Private Sector/ Digital Economy to the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello.
Early Life, Education and Career
He hails from Dekina local government of Kogi state. He is popular for his versatility in the areas of ICT Networking. He is also well known for his role in student unionism in his undergraduate days in Kogi State University.
A one-time member of the Nigerian Children Parliament. He has sponsored several programs and moved motions that have improved the lives of Nigerian students and youths and help safeguard their rights.
His move into the medical school was propelled by a display of academic excellence in his first year in the University. The University management transferred him to the Faculty of Medicine after initially studying Physics for one year in the institution and emerged best academic student.
His academic records date back to his Primary school days at Holy Family Nursery/Primary School, and Saint Peters College Idah, where he served as Head-boy and Health Prefect respectively, representing his schools in various academic competitions within and outside the state.
In 2016, he signed an international exchange contract with Brazil and China, for Nigerian medical students while serving as the National Officer on Research Exchange for the Nigerian Medical Students Association. In the same year, he led the first internationally approved medical research project of NiMSA in the country.
A Growing Political Career
Anthony Edogbo was first elected in 2015 as President of Kogi State University Medical Students Association (KOMSA). With this, he hosted a record breaking health week program that featured participation of international students and conducted over a thousand free medical tests for students and the host community, Anyigba. This culminated his selection by the Kogi state University Management Council to become a member of the Interim Students Representative Assembly (ISRA) in the same year.
His leadership skills and political intelligence gained him support of thousands of students in the University, who voted him as Student Union Government Vice President in March 2016; an election his own faculty, being the smallest in the school, was allocated just 13 votes. His victory till today remains history; and shows that the minority can rule when quality leadership is shown.
As Student Union Vice President of KSU, he achieved numerous feats especially in the improvement of student welfare and academic quality of KSU. For this, he was awarded Student Leader of the Year” in 2017.
In the same year, he served as Director of External Affairs of the Joint Campus Committee of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Kogi State Chapter.
He worked closely with Vigiscope in the incorporation of mobile security platforms in student communities across Kogi state.
In November 2017, alongside 24 other medical students, Edogbo was transferred to Ebonyi State University for clinical training under the scholarship of the state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, who salvaged the stagnation of the students.
In December 2018, he was elected National President of Kogi State Medical Students Association (KOMSA), the umbrella body of all medical students of Kogi state origin studying in about 34 medical schools in Nigeria. In 2019, he was appointed Chairman of NiMSA National Health Week which was successful hosted in Abakaliki, Nigeria.
Anthony Edogbo is well known for his ICT skills and content development. He is a trained I.T expert and web programmer. He has vast knowledge in software development, content development and digital marketing, networking and communication, data analysis as well as cyber security.
In 2018, he designed and proposed ‘Kogi Home Clinic’ to Kogi State Ministry of Health led by the Commissioner, Dr Saka Haruna Audu, and was immediately approved.
In 2020, he designed the first self-assessment tool for Covid-19 in Nigeria, for the Kogi State Government.
Subsequently, he joined the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre as ICT and Strategic Communications Assistant.
Anthony is a big fan of the Governor Yahaya Bello administration, whom he has supported since inception.
He describes the Governor as mighty success in the midst of trembling distractions.
“The Governor is determined to use the office to create more jobs, improve on infrastructural development, healthcare delivery, sports, entertainment, agriculture and tourism via the close involvement of private sector support in the state affairs.”
