31 Facts About Yahaya Bello

Yahaya Adoza Bello is a Nigerian businessman, politician.

Yahaya Bello served as the governor of Kogi State from 2016 to 2024.

Audu won the election, but died on election day; Yahaya Bello was selected to replace him as party nominee, and was sworn in the following year.

Four years later, Yahaya Bello was elected amid reports of violence and fraud.

Yahaya Bello's profile rose during his term due to his relative youth compared to other Nigerian politicians and his controversial statements and questionable expenditures.

Yahaya Bello was born on 18 June 1975 in Okene, Kogi State, the youngest of six children.

Yahaya Bello began attending Local Government Education Authority Primary School, Agassa in Okene LGA in 1984.

Yahaya Bello was named the class-two prefect, and was made the school's head boy in class six.

Yahaya Bello attended high school at Agassa Community Secondary School, Anyava, Agassa-Okene, and obtained his Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination and Senior Secondary Certificate Examination certificates from Government Secondary School in Suleja, Niger State, in 1994.

Yahaya Bello studied at Kaduna State Polytechnic Zaria in 1995, and received an accounting degree from Ahmadu Yahaya Bello University in Zaria in 1999.

Yahaya Bello received a Master of Business Administration degree from the university in 2002.

Yahaya Bello became a chartered fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria in 2004.

Yahaya Bello was declared winner of the 2015 Kogi gubernatorial election after he was chosen by the All Progressives Congress to replace Abubakar Audu, who won the election but died before the result was declared.

Yahaya Bello is the youngest governor in Nigeria, and the only governor born after the Nigerian Civil War.

Victory Obasi announced in 2020 that she would fund Yahaya Bello's run in the 2023 presidential elections.

Yahaya Bello was supported by the Bello Ambassadors Network, a social-political group founded by Edogbo Anthony which had over two million registered Nigerian members.

On 14 September 2020, Yahaya Bello was among a list of politicians placed on a visa ban by the United States Department of State for undermining democracy in Nigeria.

The election had significant reports of violence and fraud, along with claims that Yahaya Bello incited the violence with a "ta-ta-ta-ta" chant that imitated the sound of gunfire.

In 2020, Yahaya Bello repeated the "ta-ta-ta-ta" gunfire chant in Akure, Ondo State while addressing a rally for Rotimi Akeredolu's re-election campaign.

The chant was condemned by the PDP, which accused Yahaya Bello of organizing thugs to intimidate Ondo voters.

Yahaya Bello denied the claim, accusing the PDP of spreading misinformation.

Yahaya Bello refused to wear a mask at public events, including after a governors' meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and at the funeral for Tolulope Arotile.

At memorial prayers for Kogi State Chief Judge Nasir Ajanah, who died of COVID-19 on 28 June 2020, Yahaya Bello falsely claimed that Ajanah had not died of COVID-19 and said: "Whether medical experts and scientists, believe it or not, COVID-19 is out to shorten the lifestyle of the people, it is a disease propagated by force for Nigerians to accept".

Yahaya Bello opposes vaccinations, contrary to the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective.

Fanwo later said, "the Governor Yahaya Bello administration is contractually committed to fighting corruption and enthroning transparency in the polity".

In February 2021, scrutiny of the year's Kogi State budget uncovered scores of mentions of COVID-19, a virus Yahaya Bello falsely claimed did not exist and refused to combat with countermeasures.

Fanwo did not return requests for comment on the budget anomalies, and Yahaya Bello's administration was accused of corruption with the "COVID-19" allocations.

The Yahaya Bello administration called the allegations politically motivated and said that the PDP was fearful of Yahaya Bello's rising profile.

Yahaya Bello denied the allegations, calling the case a "misrepresentation of facts", saying that no Kogi state account was frozen, and "the officials of the EFCC" could have misled the commission.

Human-rights activist Deji Adeyanju said that Yahaya Bello "should be in jail forever" because of corruption, but all three Kogi State senators met with EFCC chair Abdulrasheed Bawa in September 2021 to advocate for Yahaya Bello.

Yahaya Bello's case has been adjourned until October 30,2024.