After completing his second term as Kogi State governor on January 27, 2024, Yahaya Bello has been on the radar of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency for alleged corruption, embezzlement, and mismanagement of the state’s funds.
In one particular instance, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, alleged that the former governor took state funds and converted them into US Dollars, amounting to over $700, 000 which he used for advance payment of his children’s school fees at the American International School of Abuja (AISA).
While the cases against the former governor are still allegations, here is a compilation of Federal Allocations and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for Kogi State, according to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), when Yahaya Bello was the governor between 2016 and 2024.
Federal Allocations under his administration
- 2016: N31.98bn
- 2017: N39.64bn
- 2018: N53.37bn
- 2019: N52.33bn
- 2020: N49.98bn
- 2021: N54.38bn
- 2022: N58.44bn
- 2023: N73.12bn
Federal Allocations are federal revenues generated by the Federation Accounts that are disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to all tiers of government, including the 36 states and 774 local government areas in Nigeria. The allocations are designed to be used by tiers of governments for infrastructural and economic development under their jurisdictions.
IGR under Yahaya Bello’s administration
During Bello’s stewardship, Kogi recorded approximately N107.51 billion as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), according to another document by NBS.
In September 2023, the former governor revealed an increase in the monthly IGR of the state from N300 million to N1.5 billion between 2016 and 2023.
Here is the full list of the annual IGR of Kogi under the former governor’s administration
- 2016: N9.57 billion
- 2017: N11.24 billion
- 2018: N11.33 billion
- 2019: N16.39 billion
- 2020: N17.5 billion
- 2021: N23.41 billion
- 2022: N18.21 billion
Years of Corruption Allegations
From corruption allegations to the other, Yahaya Bello, who became governor at 40, was always at the centre of controversy during his reign.
His ascendancy to the Kogi government house on January 27, 2016, was not only politically miraculous but also set a precedent in Nigeria’s judicial process when he was chosen to replace Abubakar Audu, the original APC flagbearer, who won the election but died before the result was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). No such incident ever happened in the history of Nigeria’s political history.
Despite being the youngest state governor at the time, whom many believed should change the era of the old politicians, he moved from one corruption allegation to the other.
Some of them include:
An allegation in February 2021 by the Anti-Corruption Network that Bello laundered billions of naira in public funds and filed several petitions to the EFCC.
The group alleged that the ex-governor had been awarding contracts without due process from 2016 to 2019.
After an application by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, a Federal High Court in Lagos on August 31, 2021, froze the Kogi State Salary Bailout Sterling Bank fixed account on the account that the account was illegally funded with N20 billion from the coffers of the state government. Sterling Bank denied the existence of such an account with it.
It was also alleged that Bello’s administration deposited monies meant the payment of civil servants in the state.
By November 2021, Nigeria’s apex bank acknowledged the receipt of about N19.3 billion in Kogi State salary bailout funds after their recovery by the EFCC.
Before leaving office, Bello signed the state’s N258.2 billion budget into law and allocated 15% of the budget to his successor’s office.
On April 23, 2024, Bello was at the centre of controversy again, when the EFCC boss alleged that the ex-governor withdrew over $700,000 from the Kogi Government account before leaving office for the payment of his children’s school fees.
He had denied all allegations.
Reports say the American International School of Abuja (AISA), has returned $760,910.84 to Nigeria’s government on the request of EFCC.
At the time of publication, he is still on the wanted list of EFCC to answer questions concerning corruption allegations.
They remain allegations until proven otherwise by the court.