Education: Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Public service careerRMAFC (revenue officer, accountant)
Political career: New kid on the block
Campaign promise: “To move Kogi in a new direction”
Core base: Kogi central
Social media: 3,833 likes on Facebook
Hobbies: football, boxing, reading, travelling
Yahaya Bello on Saturday won the governorship election of Kogi state after the formality of a supplementary election.
Bello had inherited the 240,861 votes polled by Abubakar Audu in the November 21 poll, which was declared inconclusive by INEC shortly before Audu died. Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the incumbent, came second with 199,514 votes.
A supplementary election then took place in 91 polling units in 19 local government areas on Saturday and Bello polled an additional 6885 to Wada’s 5363. Final score: APC 247,742, PDP 204,877.
The constitutional crisis is yet to be resolved — there are a couple of cases going to court. Audu’s running mate, James Faleke, believes he should be declared the inheritor of Audu’s votes having run on a joint ticket with him.
Wada also wants to be declared governor-elect, maintaining that Audu had died with his votes.
Bello is, therefore, Kogi’s governor-elect, pending the legal battles. But how much do you really know about the 40-year-old graduate of accounting?
HE WAS CLASS PREFECT AT 2
Bello was born on June 18, 1975 in Agassa, Okene LGA, to Bello Ipemida Ochi and Hawa Bello Oziohu. The last of six siblings did his primary education at the LGEA Primary School, Agassa, and was made the class prefect from class two all the way to class six when he was appointed head boy.
HE WROTE HIS SSCE IN 1994
In 1989, he was enrolled at Agassa Community Secondary School, but changed school five times. He finally settled in at Government Secondary School, Suleja, Niger state, and sat for his junior secondary school certificate examination there. He also did his senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE) in 1994 at the school.
6-3-3-4 FINALLY PRODUCES A GOVERNOR
Bello is the first product of the 6-3-3-4 education system to be elected governor. The system — introduced in 1989 by the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida — restructured the schooling period from six years in primary, five in secondary and three in university to six in primary, three in junior secondary, three in senior secondary and four in the university.
HE IS A 1999 GRADUATE
He enrolled for ‘A’ level exams at the Kaduna State Polytechnic in 1995 and got admission into the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria in 1996 to study accounting. He graduated in 1999 — the year Nigeria returned to democracy. He also got a master’s in business administration from ABU in 2004. He became a chartered fellow of the Association of National Accountant of Nigeria (ANAN) at Jos (2002) in 2004.
HE DID HIS NYSC IN 2001
Bello was posted to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in 2002 for his national service — and was retained. He was appointed as revenue officer and was promoted to accountant within a short period. He left as assistant chief accountant. He was heavily involved in stock trading, and his portfolio investments cut across the oil and gas, finance, transportation and agro-related sectors. He is also into real estate.
HE IS A BUHARI SUPPORTER
While Audu worked for Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso in the presidential primary of APC in 2014, Bello gave his own delegates to Muhammadu Buhari, who eventually won the ticket. Bello lost to Audu in the governorship primary, but fortune would later smile on him with the death of the candidate.
AND FINALLY, HE LOVES BOXING!
His hobbies include reading, travelling, driving and football. And, interestingly, boxing. It is not too clear though if he only likes watching boxing — or if he likes boxing. Whichever way, his hands are now packed with political punches.
Sir Jarus! I greet you. Pls I would like to become a chartered tax man. Planning to register with CITA, hopefully pass their exams and become chartered. I need info as regards this. What are the requirements? I learnt you ll register with 10k..after this 10k, what are the other things one would surely pay for in the process? As a graduate of accounting, would there be exemptions for me? What are the benefits of becoming a chartered tax man you feel I don't know? Like how many months/years will the whole thing take if one passes their exam @ every first try? Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign trips since he assumed office were critical to the implementation of his administration key policies of enhancing security, jump-starting the economy, creating jobs and fighting corruption.
Muhammed said this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
He argued against the position of some individuals who believe that the President was merely wasting the nation’s time and money on his frequent trips abroad.
According to the minister, the trips have been anything but frivolous, and that they have started yielding fruits in terms of turning the tide in the fight against the insurgents who have been most active in the North-east, attracting investments in the range of billions of dollars, and securing global support for the administration’s anti-corruption fight.
”Nigerians, whether in the ruling or the opposition parties, have a right to ask questions about the activities of their President, but it is absolutely important that they do so from an informed, rather than partisan or sensational, standpoint,” he said.
The Minister explained that most of the President’s trips – to Nigeria’s neighbouring countries of Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, as well as to Germany, the US, France and the UN – were devoted to rallying regional and global support for the war against terrorism.
”He was in Germany at the invitation of the G7 to solicit support from the Industrialized Nations for the war against terrorism. No one who has witnessed the killings and maiming in the past seven years by Boko Haram will call such trips frivolous. After all, the security and welfare of the citizens are the reason for the existence of any government.
”The President’s visit to South Africa was to attend the regular summit of the African Union; the trip to Ghana was aimed at fostering better relations with a brotherly country; the trip to India was for the India-Africa summit that provided the opportunity to explore ways of enhancing Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from Indian investors, while the trip to Iran was to attend the forum of Gas Exporting Countries, a veritable platform for discussing how to better harness Nigeria’s abundant gas resources for industrial/domestic consumption and export, at a time of dwindling oil prices.
”The President also travelled to Malta to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, from where he travelled to Paris for the UN Conference on Climate Change. The President’s second trip to South Africa since assuming office is for the China-Africa forum. On the few occasions that the President has embarked on a State Visit, he has tied that to an agenda that will further the quest for support for the war against terror and the efforts to enhance FDIs, thus stimulating economic growth and creating jobs,” the Minister said.
He said that apart from rallying global support for the country’s wars on terror and graft or seeking foreign investments, it is important that Nigeria leverages on President Buhari’s brand, a high integrity quotient and an embodiment of committed and dedicated leadership, to further Nigeria’s relevance and visibility on the global stage.
”President Buhari is well respected on the global stage for his high integrity, his transparency, his patriotism and his purposeful leadership. It is important to leverage this respect in such a way that Nigeria can become a major player, either in the realms of economy or global diplomacy,” the Minister said.
He said the President had embarked on the trips under a very stringent budget, cutting his delegations to numbers far below what his predecessors used to travel with, while even the trimmed entourage had received reduced allowances on the occasions that the host governments have provided accommodation and feeding.
You probably don’t know Sugabelly. I don’t know her either. But it is the twitter handle of a Nigerian lady: @sugabelly, who in the wake of the death of former Governor Abubakar Audu of Kogi State felt the urge to go public with her story. My foregrounding her/story as opposed to his/story, is further affirmation of an earlier submission that Audu’s death is “inconclusive” (The Guardian, Nov 27).
As the rest of Nigeria mourned the death of Abubakar Audu and pondered the implications of an inconclusive electoral process, Sugabelly showed up on social media and started celebrating his death. Her message was that the death of the man was good riddance to bad rubbish. “I feel so amazing”, she wrote. “Like God actually answered my prayers… That’s usually how it is. Powerful people rarely remember the people whose lives they destroy.” She alleged that Audu’s sons once gang-raped her- seven of them, when she was an impressionable 17-year old and that Governor Audu used his position as a big man to rubbish her, slammed her with a $2 million libel suit, denied her from getting justice, with his lawyers insisting that “14 years” is the age of consent under the Penal Code in the FCT, and so there is no case. For eight years, her life, she says, has been a nightmare including contemplations of suicide and spells of manic depression. Her frustration is well articulated in her twitter handle and an extended commentary titled “Surviving Mustapha Audu and His Rape Brigade”.
I have heard people proclaim loudly that a traditional proverb says: “the witch cried last night and the child died in the morning” and they have been wondering whether there was some kind of extra-terrestial, meta-physical animus which led to Audu’s sudden death. Howbeit, Sugabelly’s allegation is that of rape. Her protestation made the rounds for a few days largely uncelebrated, but it caught fire last Friday. For days, rape was the subject of discussion on Nigerian twitter. Opinion was divided with some calling Sugabelly, “a LovePeddler” and a badly brought up child but soon, the weight tilted heavily in her favour as the reactions panned out to focus on the menace of rape and the devastating effect on persons, families, the victims and society.
One of the sons of Abubakar Audu was soon fingered as the leader of the rape brigade by both Sugabelly and her staunchest supporter, @Echecrates. What happened subsequently is better experienced. A lady tweeting as Zahra – @oakleafbycg – jumped into the fray to defend him – hers was quite a spirited fight that lasted for hours, defending the integrity of her husband. She probably was defending herself too. Her father-in-law was so close to being Governor and he lost it, only for some twitter activists, and a sugabelly (what a name!, by the way) to start suggesting that her husband has a rape case to answer. She is a good woman, isn’t she? I monitored the conversations, and it is difficult to conclude that anyone was successfully convicted for there were persons who raised questions about sugabelly’s identity, her motives and whether she is not just a spoiler, playing a sponsored political game.
The emergent consensus however focused on the menace of rape in our society. Some male commentators seeking to genderize the discussion also pointed out that they were once raped too, but the pervasive impression was that young girls are more often the victims. I noted that there was very little talk about marital rape, which is ordinarily a major issue in the West, but which will be considered absurd by Africans. There were some suggestions about rapists being put to death in line with the still untested Violence Against Persons Act, but as is the case with twitter, 140-word interventions do not necessarily a honest thinker nor an intellectual make. It creates an illusion though, the illusion that someone whose reasoning is below 140 words is a mega-man of knowledge and insights.
Nonetheless, the matter between sugabelly and the Audu sons deserves a little more probing. I am tempted to commend sugabelly for throwing up the subject, but the real problem with rape in our society lies in the inadequacy of both legal and social responses. Both the law and the society stigmatise rape, and wrong-foot the victim. The relevant sections of the law in Nigeria today more or less ridicule the victim, and usually, the victim is female. The biggest challenge for decades has been this manner in which the law humiliates the female victim: the procedure requires examination by a medical doctor and in open court, proving actual penetration up to the labia majora. That is a tough call for victims and families, and so, many cases end up unreported. Besides, the criminal justice system peopled by phallocentric officials is wont to dismiss any woman reporting rape: in Nigeria, it would be ridiculous indeed for a married woman or a girlfriend to report being raped by her husband or fiancée. From the policeman at the station to the presiding judge, if it gets to that stage, the case may die a natural death in the vortex of misogyny.
Culture is a major barrier: the search for virgins at the bridal chamber by African families is a long dead custom, but few families can stand the stigma of taking as wife, a woman who has been raped, and whose indignity has been broadcast. Female victims are therefore reluctant to seek legal redress, first because of social stigma, and that is why there are very few convictions despite the regular incidence of rape. Any woman that is labeled a rape victim stands the risk of not getting a husband: families of prospective suitors will latch on to that evidence as if it a mark of leprosy, and urge their sons to steer clear, creating for the woman’s family an undeserved dilemma. Despite the wave of modernity in our land, tradition remains resilient and marriage, going to a man’s house, is still, quite sadly, considered a woman’s ultimate achievement.
This is probably why, in due course, the accused also showed up in the conversation releasing e-mail exchanges between him and Sugabelly, and going as far as revealing her true identity and painting her as a “LovePeddler,” a liar and an opportunist. Parents, keep an eye on your sons and daughters! The family, the most important social unit, has a role to play. Both male and female children should be brought up to respect ethical values and the rights of other human beings to dignity. The inferiorization of the female gender often begins in the home, and there are too many cultural paradigms sustaining an objectionable model of parenting, which must change. Too many parents, too busy trying to make survival possible, have abdicated responsibility and it is society that is hurt as a result.
The solution also lies in legal reform: the laws on rape must become more progressive and enlightened. The statutes have been in urgent need of review for long; they must provide the necessary deterrence and not ridicule the victim; even the Violence Against Persons Act (2015) does not fully correct the mischief in the Criminal and Penal Codes.
There is also a trend now that must be addressed, namely the objectification of women for profit or other purposes. The most recent illustration I find is the battle being waged on twitter and instagram by @blossomnnodim, who has since changed to @blossomozurumba (good luck to the man who is responsible for this blossoming), as she takes on a TBWA power charger advert, which instead of promoting the subject focuses on a woman’s biological gifts. Blossom objects to this but she has since been accused of witch-hunting and idleness. Her critics miss the point. The objectification of women in popular culture erodes the dignity of women. But the worse of it all, is that women themselves promote this negative effect. Nigeria has been lucky in locking into global trends on all fronts, but in a global village, we have not been successful in retaining local standards as a bulwark against negative, imperial cultural influences.
Social media, for example, is dominated by images of sexual libertinism; even our young ladies who are now role models on the basis of concrete accomplishments help to foster this image. I am making this point delicately; my concern is that we have too many Nigerian female role models who are busy trying to be like Amber Rose, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Rita Ora, Miles Cyrus, Blac Chyna – if you know what I mean, all those foreign cultural icons whose lifestyles commodify women. Our own equivalents are all over social media: pretty girls who are perpetually showing cleavages, wearing body tights that accentuate curves, some even boast that they won’t wear bras and pants and that illicit sex is cool: that is how this self-denigration has grown all the way down, creating a sexual tension even among the uneducated wannabes. I am not victimizing the victim, knowing fully well that there is that human rights border of freedom of choice and expression; still, new cultural realities should command certain limits.
Sugabelly may not get the sugar of contentment that she seeks, but let her be consoled that she has ignited a debate that may shed more light on the dilemma of rape, and/or sex with a minor (Penal Code or not), and the sad manner in which our society continues to produce children and adults who behave badly. Let us also hope that sooner or later, the sleeping Abubakar Audu will be allowed to lie, by his sons and the girl they allegedly raped. It is not Audu that is on trial, it is his sons: sons of big men who go overboard with their life of privilege, and of course, Sugabelly- the overtly impressionable young girl- who are all still alive to be called to account, if not in regular court, but now, in the court of public opinion.
...So I travelled down to Benin to witness this beautiful memorable moments. I couldn't have missed them for any reason ..
Travelled down there with a brother in the opposition with the moniker southernbreeze(wailer) ..I must confess it was fun. Frankly, I never knew benin was such a lovely place to be...
Fellow nairalanders, pls help say a Happy Married Life to a nairalander, a sister and a friend.. I need your wishes/prayers for her pleeeeeese
Bekwarra: Hypocrisy. And you had to drag the former administration into it. The same way the presidential spokesperson issued a statement on behalf of the FG to offer support to France while the people of Yola and Kano only got a "presidential tweet". Nonsense, everything is Jonathan.
Okereke said though the judiciary was the last hope of the common man, “somebody like Col. Dasuki (rtd) should not benefit in that hope because he is enemy of progress and rule of law.
Take care of Dasuki and Insurgency will soon be a thing of the past. He knows a lot. #QuoteMeAnywhere
It won't come to me as a surprise to know that he speaks with shekau everyday.
9niceguy: ComParing nigerians with a mere dog.....shi*t
bro, its the truth! The bitter truth! In fact in Nigeria today, some people do not feel concerned if boko haram strikes Nigerians..but when terrorists attack in the whiteman's land, you ll see our so called stars, leaders and all #CryingforParis
omenka: Is this not typical?? What you lot prefer to believe are the worst news about this admin. When a bomb goes off and official stories says 3 died, you'd rather believe Shekau if he says 500 died.
We are used to all of these. Keep picking your rotten cherries as you please.
Nonsense.
...And hit the damn treadmill already.
God bless you, Omenka. Same thing on my mind as I read her silly post. These senseless saddists are quick to believe every bad news but will doubt the good ones. I don't even know if they are Nigerians anymore. That your GEJ lost election doesn't mean you should become an enemy of the state.
Mizmycoli, I used to think you are a bit intelligent..why prove me wrong? How can over 100 soldiers go missing just like that? Dem be chibok girls? Abi na civilians? Abi u think say na GEJ administration we still dey? Madam, use your head na
Chai! You guys are becoming really annoying these days
All they know how to type is "APC government is a curse", "APC is a scam", "Buhari is a terrorist", "Buhari is a kunu sipping blabla bla and so on... Honestly, I wonder why we have these people when we are faced with difficulties as insurgency and corruption. To me, they are bigger than these two problems.
Only the Enemies of the Country will support Dasuki on this...
I have read so many very funny comments since this Dasuki's case started and I stopped wondering why Nigeria as a country is still this backward. Comments like "Buhari is only witch-hunting Dasuki because of the 1985 beef" are just plain stupid
We are talking National security, you are talking beef..beef kor, pork ni
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Thursday said the federal government did not disobey the order of a Federal High Court, Abuja which granted the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), permission to travel on a medical trip to the United Kingdom.
Malami also said operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) were justified in their continuing barricade of Dasuki’s Abuja home, because the ex-NSA failed to submit himself to investigation on further allegations apart from the charges pending against him before the Federal High Court.
The AGF, who fielded questions from journalists and members of staff of the ministry and agencies under the ministry, said the action of the government with respect to Dasuki’s case was in the public interest.
At the interactive session attended by directors and other members of staff of the ministry, as well as heads of various agencies under the supervision of the ministry, Malami said he would give adequate attention to staff welfare.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja where Dasuki is being prosecuted on four counts of money laundering and illegal possession of firearms had last Monday directed the AGF or his representative to appear before the court on November 23 to clarify the federal government's position on the issues relating to the order granted the ex-NSA.
While responding to the charge by one of those present that the federal government had flouted the November 3, 2015 order of Justice Ademola, which had permitted Dasuki to travel abroad, Malami gave an undertaking that under President Muhammadu Buhari, “there shall not be flouting of court orders”.
He said: “In some of these cases, some of these high profile culprits may be involved in multiple cases that might require investigation. If you are granted bail in respect of one issue, and the need arises for further investigation in other criminal offences, the law of the land requires investigation and you are bound as a good citizen of the country to submit yourself to investigation.
“The interest of the nation reigns supreme above an individual’s interest. So when the national interest is at stake and it has to be investigated, individual interest naturally gives way.
“It is not enough to conclude that the order was flouted. You have to look at the peculiarities of the prevailing cases on the ground. You can be granted bail with respect to one case and there can be other cases that public policy demands investigation. “It is only natural to allow investigations to be concluded having regard to the public interest that reigns supreme over and above individual interest.
“The point for consideration is whether the public interest is there as against the individual interest. But as it is, this government is going to uphold due compliance to the rule of law and sustain public interest and sustenance of its tenets.”
Buhari on Tuesday received the interim report of the 13-man committee set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and defence sector from 2007 to date with a directive that all indicted persons be arrested and brought to book.
The report, among other issues, alleged that Dasuki, in his post as NSA, misappropriated billions of dollars and naira on failed and fictitious contracts.
It further alleged that the NSA failed to procure four Alpha jets, 12 attack helicopters and other military hardware for the prosecution of the war against the insurgency.
Apart from the charges already preferred against the former NSA, the Federal Ministry of Justice had also in a counter-affidavit opposing an application by Dasuki through which he sought an order among other prayers, directing the removal of the DSS barricade from his home.
Malami also said that the present administration would undertake an audit of high profile corruption cases “so that those who are found wanting for compromising investigations and prosecution processes shall be prosecuted”.
He restated the resolve of the Buhari administration to “promptly address the challenges facing our country in building a safer and more secure country, fighting corruption, and improving the economy in order to create jobs and foster inclusive growth”.
The Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Taiwo Abisogun, called for the support of staff of the ministry and agencies under it in order for the new AGF to achieve his set goals.
Director of Public Prosecution in the ministry, Mr. Mohammad Diri, urged the AGF to stop engaging private solicitors to handle cases for the government, assuring Malami that the ministry had competent lawyers and that the funds that ought to go to private solicitors could be ploughed into improving the welfare of staff of the ministry.
princejayboss: [s]I assume you accept that news.... Hahaha
I can accept we fly an old jet type... Phantom 4 is and should not be our main fighter jets.. Though there has been modifications on the system...
Back to the point you made..... How possible on earth do think that the last acquisition of weapon is in 2006...... Really you accept this fact? And you also want me to accept that PMB bought weapon through an unknown means ?
Man; you are the most confused fellow I have ever heard speak...
2006 to date no weapon acquired PMB might have bought weapon which am not surpose to know yet no weapon acquired from 2006 to now.... Is not crazy point?
I think your nanny changed the content of your baby food in your feeding bottle when you were a baby and replaced it with mud water[/s]
I hate to bash people on a faceless forum buh truth be told, the kind of mumu you are is very rare. Watch this and say something stupid again. Here is another opportunity for you to prove you are not insane.
INTROVERT: The only solution for this impasse in petroleum products supply is total removal of subsidy..... btw aren't our refineries working yet becaues they would be able to cushion the effects of demand.
Nigerians are pretty confused right now, they do not know who to blame for the long queues, is it President Muhammadu Buhari or the senate?
Two weeks ago the federal government approved payment of 413 billion naira ($2 billion) in subsidies, some dating from 2014, but funds have yet to be transferred because they are yet to approved by the senate.
According to Reuters, importers have not been paid their subsidy since Buhari succeeded Goodluck Jonathan and the delay has worsened the financial crunch for importers.
At a fuel station on LASU-Ojo road Nigerians are forced to keep vigil and motorists barely have a chance of buying fuel.
Our correspondent was restrained from taking photographs but here are some pictures.
princejayboss: I think if you love Nigeria...what you should demand is an open hearing where he can say all he wants under the protection of the law.... Am not trying to say he stole or not .... What am saying is that since the start of this NSA saga... The FG are not really sincere with the secret trials..... If the Dansuki of man.... Demand an open hearing to speak .... Then we might soon know the founding fathers of BH.....
W Final question for you.... What do really now about weapons?.... Cos I wonder if the past Administration did not acquire few weapons.... The coordinated surface to surface or even Arial to surface hits will not be going on.....
Besides since PMB have not acquired any weapon ... Are they fighting with sticks.... Nija learn not allow this old men to fool us.... We should be way smarter than them
For strategic reasons, you don't expect the FG to tell you as they acquire weapons..and I am surprised you don't know this. Alex Badeh, kenneth Minimah confirmed weapons were not bought during the previous regime. I don't what else you people want to hear. Abeg I am tired of repeating that which is clear to people.
Politics › Profile Of Yahaya Bello: Kogi Governor-Elect by midolian(op): 6:54am On Dec 06, 2015
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