A welter of scintillating stories had been told about the breaking of Governor Yahaya Bello from a humane background into national political limelight. All the way, his story has been smooth and yet replete with testimonies of daunting challenges which could have eclipsed his success, had he not learnt to fight his battle, like a determined soldier he wouldn’t have made any headway in life. His school of politics is with a difference, carrying out his activities, as he does with civility and unrivalled panache.
His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello has borne out the truth in the aphorism that a golden fish has no hiding place. His name stands for so many things – administrator, policy analyst, a great mind with an incredible blend of depth and breath. He is a committed elite, who does not shy away from rigorous analysis about Nigeria’s political economy.
Close and honest watchers of the political development in Nigeria would readily admit that His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, the incumbent Governor of Kogi State is a leader with a huge difference. He has strong willed, full of energy, youthful, loaded with wisdom, knowledge, good-will of the people and above all God’s divine support on his side.
Governor Yahaya Bello is a household name and a well-known personality in Kogi State and beyond. An agile and pragmatic individual, who has the big heart to weather storms and at the end of it all, he comes up more successfully. He is a prolific and prudent manager of resources. He is a successful politician who enjoys creating wealth for others.
He is truly fired up by the possibility as well as the enterprise nature of the people of Kogi State to develop the State beyond human imagination within the last seven years as the governor of the State. He relates to people as if he had known them all their lives. No matter how lowly their status, they cannot feel ill at ease with him. The man seems permanently engaged in building bridges of understanding across Nigeria, no wonder people welcome him wherever he goes. He is an optimist and a firm believer in the doctrine that all things are possible through God and if you work hard enough at them too.
Whatever anyone may feel towards His Excellency, no one is likely to accuse him of a lack of competence or enthusiasm towards the task of rebuilding Kogi State as well as national development. If anything, his critics are more likely to charge him for being too workaholic and committed to national reconstruction through his good policies. His patriotism and enthusiasm are never in doubt. He is a strong observer with a feeling heart, a man who is genuinely moved by the plights of others, a personality rare to find nowadays.
His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a dye-in-the wool progressive and he never deviated from his course. He has remained loyal to the course of human and infrastructure development, maximally using societal resources for the development of the people, without holding back the resourceful and hardworking in their entrepreneurial and wealth drive. He is vastly knowledgeable in a wide array of subjects. He is intelligent and wise. Below is a condensed success story of His Excellency in terms of achievements in the last seven years in Kogi State.
SECURITY
Created, upgraded Kogi State Vigilante Service by recruiting 3000 personnel and supported them with 500 motorcycles
Established forward Operation Base for the Nigerian Army at Okene.
Provided over two hundred patrol vehicles with thousands of communication gadgets for all security outfits in the state.
Demolished houses and hideout places of kidnappers across the state.
Provided money for logistics to all security outfits
EDUCATION
Has helped to improve access to school in the state.
Provided fund to improve the quality of teaching and schooling
Established a science based university named Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara.
Increased budgetary allocation to the education sector
Built and equipped GYB Model Schools across the State.
Has supported this institution, Kogi State College of Health Science and Technology, Idah with fund to carry out research, buy more equipment, training and retraining of staff, for accreditation of more courses etc.
AGRICULTURE
Provided and distributed over 100 tractors to all the 21 L.G.AS in the state
Built the Ejiba rice mill in Kogi West.
Provided tons of fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the state.
Provided 1,500 land tillers
HEALTH CARE DELIVERY
Has helped to overhaul basic health infrastructure.
Encouraged training and retraining of health workers.
Provided counterpart fund to international agencies.
Established the sustainable Drug Supply system.
Installation of medical equipment at 5-selected public hospitals in the state.
Established the Okene Referral Hospital and upgrading in facilities in Gegu, Ajaokuta and Isanlu.
Constructed and renovated the new wings of the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja.
Provided a facelift to school of Nursing Obangede and this very institute.
HIS INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT STRIDES
Infrastructural development is an area the administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello outclassed his critics. Within the last seven years in office, he has taken bold steps to develop all spheres of infrastructural needs of the state. The investments in the area of infrastructure have also been deepened to support the growth of the private sectors and create jobs.
Several roads have been constructed and rehabilitated by the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello.
Ditto of culverts.
Constructed first ever fly-over at Ganaja junction, Lokoja
Light- up about 200 communities in Kogi East with electricity
Built the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service headquarters
Constructed a civic reception centre named Muhammadu Buhari Centre
Many township roads have received tremendous facelift.
YOUTH/WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Over 25, 000 youths have been lifted out of poverty through various empowerment programmes of the state.
Women have received government attention under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello especially in area of appointments and empowerment.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS
Repositioned the civil service for better service delivery.
Provided retraining of civil servants.
Successfully carried out staff verification of State and Local government staff, thereby produce a clean and verifiable staff profile in the state.
Implemented the minimum wage policy of the federal government of Nigeria.
These are just very few of his numerous footmarks in the state in the last seven years.
His terrific performance as the executive governor of Kogi State in the last seven years might have endeared the good people of the State to him and his administration.
His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello will continue to occupy a special place of honour in the Nigerian pantheon of heroes for his unifying largeness, genuineness of his vision and his great instincts in building bridges across the Nigerian divide. Governor Bello that we know is a gentle giant, quiet, graceful, suave and unflappable gentleman. He is always engrossed in assembling, analyzing and interpreting hard data to promote public policies that will help to quicken socio-economic development of the people. Essentially, all these attributes have been bestowed on him by Almighty Allah to function well.
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