Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, is one public office holder, who does not shy away from controversy. Sometimes, he courts it and gives no damn about its consequence.
While his leadership style has earned him both friends and foes, there is no doubt that Bello enjoys the chivalrous life of protocols, ceremonies and courtesies associated with public office holders. However, the Kogi State governor has been able to navigate the murky waters of politics, weathering the storm associated with the power game, and in most cases, has emerged unscathed.
Popularly called “White Lion”, Bello shot into political limelight in 2015, when he became the governor of the Confluence State by fate. He made history on January 27, 2015 as the first person from a minority ethnic group of the state to occupy the historic Lugard House.
He is Ebira of Kogi Central Senatorial District. Before then, the Igala people of Kogi East Senatorial Zone have had enough of power, having ruled the state since it was created in 1991. Kogi State comprises the people of Kabba province of Okun and Ebira; Igala and Bassa speaking parts of old Benue State.
The Igala and Bassa formed the Eastern Senatorial District; Ebira and Ogori-Magongo formed the Central Senatorial District, while the Okuns, Kotos and Hausa speaking part of Lokoja formed the Western Senatorial District.
Bello’s emergence as governor for the first term would not have been possible if not for the demise of Price Abubakar Audu, was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 21, 2015 governorship election.
The former two-time governor of the state (1992-1993 and 1999-2003) was coasting to victory when he passed on. The unfortunate incident almost triggered a constitutional crisis as the constitution, at that time, did not envisage such situation.
The impasse over the incident was however resolved, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) directed the APC to nominate another candidate as Audu’s substitution for the December 5, 2015 supplementary poll in the 91 polling units, where elections were cancelled.
The electoral body had declared the election inconclusive midway during collation and announcement of results, following the cancellation of results in the affected polling units due to incidences of violence, ballot boxes snatching, over voting, among others.
Late Audu was at the time leading his closest rival and then incumbent governor, Capt. Idris Wada by 41,000 votes, whereas the total number of registered voters in the 91 polling units was 49,953, a figure, the commission explained was higher than the margin between the top contenders.
The window to substitute Audu, rather than serve as a relief for the APC, sparked off another round of crisis as the deputy governorship candidate, Hon. James Faleke, wrote to INEC that he should be declared winner on the ground that the supplementary poll was needless as the number of eligible voters in the affected areas stood at 25,000, and as a result, will not make any impact in the overall result.
The PDP, on its part, urged the electoral body to declare its candidate –Wada, winner of the election as the votes garnered by Audu were not transferable.
The party further argued that Audu’s votes died with him. INEC, however, insisted on going ahead with the supplementary poll and the APC was left with no other option than to nominate the first runner up in its governorship primary election (Bello) as Audu’s substitution.
As expected, Bello was declared winner of the governorship election after the supplementary poll. His party (APC) garnered 6,885 votes to bring its total votes to 247,752, having polled 240,857 in the first round of voting.
The PDP candidate (Wada) scored 5,363 to take his total votes to 204, 877 votes. He had earlier garnered 199, 514 votes. Despite INEC’s declaration of Bello as Governor-elect, the Audu/Faleke campaign organization described the supplementary election that produced him as “unnecessary and a complete waste of tax payers’ money’’ and headed for the tribunal to challenge it.
Wada also challenged the outcome of the election and return of Bello, joining APC and INEC as respondents.
Wada, who also prayed the court to declare him winner of the election, also urged the tribunal to stop Bello’s inauguration. But ruling on the suits, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Halima Mohammed, said that though the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the case contrary to insinuations, the prayers were not contained in the original petitions as it was merely a motion on notice. She explained that if the tribunal grants the motions, it will definitely affect the life of the original case before tribunal.
With the court clearing the coast, Bello was inaugurated as governor. He was 40 years old then. He then promised the people of taking the state to the next level.
The accountant-turned-politician had then identified solid minerals, agriculture and tourism as key economic drivers that can take the state to the next level, and pledged to liaise with the Federal Government to realize the potentials of the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Itakpe Iron Ore Company.
It was, however, unfulfilled dreams after Bello’s first term in office even as some analysts averred that Kogi State, under his watch, became a study in leadership failure given the catalogue of crisis that marred the era.
The crisis started barely a month after Bello’s administration was inaugurated, when five out of the 20 members of the state House of Assembly impeached the then speaker, Hon. Momoh-Jimoh Lawal. Following the impeachment, crisis erupted in the House thereby compelling Hon. Sunday Steve Karimi to sponsor a motion on the floor of the House of Representatives on February 23, 2016.
The motion was unanimously adopted with a 10-man committee headed by then deputy chief whip, Hon. Pally Iriase, to investigate the matter. The committee subsequently visited Lokoja, the Kogi State capital and met with the governor, members of the state Assembly and heads of the relevant security agencies in the state.
After the meeting, the committee found out that the House of Assembly had not performed its legislative functions since the suspension of plenary on February 15, 2016, as none of the factions held any sitting in the hallowed chambers of the State House of Assembly.
While Bello maintained then that he had no hand in the Assembly crisis as he never tried to influence the decision of the House given that he was then new in office and does not have any prior relationship with the legislators other than to work for the good of the entire state in line with his oath of office,
Jimoh-Lawal’s group accused him of a subtle plot to install his choice candidate, Hon. Umar Imam as speaker.
The suspicion was later confirmed, when Imam emerged as speaker of the Assembly on July 26, 2016, following Jimoh-Lawal’s resignation. Many had thought that the crisis would be over given that the governor had his way, but that was not to be as Imam equally bowed out like his predecessor on August 3, 2017 after another round of crisis.
In his stead, Mathew Kolawole, the member representing Kabba/ Bunu state constituency was elected as speaker. Besides the state Assembly crisis, Bello also had a long running battle with the then lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye.
Interestingly, both were allies before they fell apart. Melaye had stood behind Bello from the period of the supplementary election that brought him to power to his inauguration.
But trouble started when the senator, alongside some stakeholders in Kogi State APC gathered in Abuja to pass a no confidence vote on Bello during his administration’s one year anniversary.
Expectedly, the governor fired back and accused the lawmaker of hurling unbridled attacks at him. He also accused Melaye of waging a “selfish and egocentric” war. From then, it was an unending ego battle between the duo, with both actors deploying conventional and unconventional means to outwit each other.
There was also a running battle between Bello and the state’s civil servants as well as the various labour unions, following a workers’ verification exercise embarked upon by the state government. While the exercise revealed thousands of ghost workers on the state’s payroll, it equally caused untold hardships and pains to many workers as some of them were owed backlog of salaries running into months.
The impeachment of Bello’s deputy, Simon Achuba, on October 18, 2019, capped the catalogue of crisis. Achuba’s impeachment followed the submission of a report of the committee set up by the State Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajana, to investigate an allegation of gross misconduct against him.
The then deputy governor had raised the alarm of an alleged threat to his life and accused his principal of intolerance of contrary views. He also criticized the administration for non-performance, claiming that it was the reason for the rift between him and Bello.
With Achuba out of the way, Bello nominated his then Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja, who was consequently screened and cleared by the state Assembly as deputy governor.
Onoja later became running mate to Bello for the November 16, 2019 governorship and both would be inaugurated today as deputy governor and governor, respectively.
In all these, Bello persistently admonished those he described as detractors to allow his government to focus on its goal of a better Kogi for its citizens, but analysts kept reminding him that the deterioration of any administration begins with the decay of the principle on which it was founded.
Echoes of the counsel reverberated, when Bello declared his intention to seek reelection for a second term, and perhaps, explained the tension that trailed the November 16, 2019 governorship election in the state. In what seemed a replay of the 2015 contest, Bello’s main opponent – Wada, from the majority Igala ethnic stock of the state – has close links to two former governors of the state.
He is ex-Governor Wada’s sibling and an in-law to former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Interestingly, the younger Wada trounced his brother – ex-Governor Wada and his brother in-law – Abubakar Ibrahim – in the PDP primary election, but he failed to turn the table against Bello in the main election.
However, the election was not without controversies as the opposition parties cried foul, but failed to turn the table against Bello in court.
Presidency on Bello’s mind Just one in year in his second term in office as governor of Kogi State,
Bello believes that he has what it takes to lead Nigeria as the country prepares for the next general election in 2023. The governor’s presidential ambition started like a joke, when his presidential campaign posters surfaced on the social media late last year.
The posters with the APC logo and colours, have the message: “All Progressives Congress Continual of Good Governance. Vote for Governor Yahaya Bello as President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
However, like other presidential hopefuls, who are yet to publicly declare their aspirations, Bello quickly distanced himself from the campaign posters.
In a statement then by his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, the governor said he has no prior knowledge of the purported materials, adding that he had no links with the group or individuals behind them.
The picture, however, became clear, when members of the Kogi State House of Assembly called on the governor to join the 2023 presidential race.
The lawmakers, in a motion moved on behalf of all the members by the Majority Leader of the House, Hassan Abdullahi, predicated their call on the “sterling performance” of the governor since he assumed office in 2016.
Bello means business
Though many view the Kogi governor’s move as plot to make himself relevant ahead of the 2023 polls, recent developments in the polity show that he means business. An indication to this emerged early this month, when Bello dismissed claims that the APC had a zoning arrangement.
He was apparently reacting to calls for the ruling party to zone its 2023 presidential ticket to the southern part of the country.
Bello, who maintained that anyone from any zone is free to contest for the party’s presidential ticket for the 2023 elections, said: “There is nothing like zoning in our party. In 2015, there was no zoning; many aspirants, including former Governor Rochas Okorocha contested. In 2019, there was no zoning; people in APC were not courageous enough to contest with President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Asked if he is interested in the 2023 presidency, Bello said: “If it’s the will of God for me to become president in this country at the right time, I will be.” He added that he will defeat any candidate if he decides to contest for the 2023 presidency by a wide margin.
“I will record votes that have never been recorded in Nigeria by the grace of God. But that’s not the issue right now; the issue is there must be Nigeria before we talk of 2023,” he said.
Between reality and myth
While some analysts have suggested that Bello may be selling a dummy to test the political waters ahead of the 2023 general election, a political school opined that it would be fool-hardy to dismiss him as politics remains a game of the possible.
Members of this school pointed to the governor’s closeness to President Buhari, who, if he chooses, will play a major role in who succeeds him.
Against this backdrop, the question on the minds of many is: How far can Bello, whose reign as governor of Kogi State has been dogged by controversies, go with his ambition? Will the APC settle for another northerner as its presidential candidate after Buhari?
Gale of endorsement
No doubt, only time will provide answers to these questions, however, it seems that Bello is gradually warming himself into the hearts of some Nigerians as well as groups.
One the groups is Arewa Youth Forum (AYF), which recently called on the Kogi governor to run for the presidency in 2023, stating that it was time for the youth to take over the country’s leadership.
Speaking during a courtesy visit on Bello at the government house, Lokoja, president of the group, Comrade Gambo Gunjungu, said the youth are tired of recycled leaders. Gunjungu said the group “after thorough research and evidence of the numerous antecedents’’ of Bello decided to call on him to run for president in 2023.
The youth leader added that Bello has made remarkable achievements in the areas of security, infrastructure, youth and women inclusion in governance, as well as his firmness against the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His words: “Like many other young Nigerians wanting to change the narratives of political bandwagon and recycled politicians, we are looking up to him as the hope of the Nigerian youth. We are discussing with our patrons and we already have the network it would take to propagate their message all over the nation.”
Just recently, an international press conference was held in London, United Kingdom to draw the attention of Nigerians home and abroad to the Bello presidency project.
With participants from other countries joining via zoom, speakers eulogised the Kogi State governor for what they called his inclusive governance model, women empowerment and visionary leadership.
Speaking under the auspices of Bello Diaspora Support Movement (BDSM), convener of the conference, Amb. Akinmosun Kolawole, said the gathering was simply “a Diaspora support movement for the actualisation of the youth presidential project as represented in Governor Yahaya Bello.”
He described the Kogi governor as the right man“to reposition the nation on the path of progress and shared prosperity,” adding that BDSM “is assiduously mobilising Nigerians across the globe to support Governor Yahaya Bello.”
Similarly, a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, in his comment on a picture taken during a recent visit by Bello to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, wrote on his Twitter page: “Beautiful shot and pregnant with meaning! When both PMB and OBJ honour and respect you then you are truly blessed. I am happy for you my brother Yahaya. Let God’s will be done!”
Credits: Felix Nwaneri | New Telegraph
