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The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, in a sweeping move, has deposed the Ohimege Igu, the paramount ruler of Koton Karfe, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Isah Koto, along with two other first-class chiefs.
The deposed traditional rulers were also banished to Niger State.

The Governor also said His Royal Highness, Boniface Musa, the ONU-IFE in Omala Local Government, is to be suspended, indefinitely.

According to Bello, his decision to sack the traditional rulers is in line with the Traditional and Chieftaincy Laws, Rules and Regulations, and follows due process.

“His Royal Highness, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Isah Koto, the Ohimege-Igu Koton-Karfe, who is also the Chairman, Lokoja/ Kogi Local Government Area Traditional Council is hereby removed and to be deposed to, Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State,” he said.

He also added that “His Royal Highness, Sam Bola Ojoa, the Olu Magongo of Magongo, is removed and to be deposed to Salka, Magama Local Government Area of Niger State.”

“His Royal Highness, Samuel Adayi Onimisi, the Obobanyi of Emani, is removed and to be deposed to Doko, Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State.”

The Governor made the disclosure at a media briefing after the State Executive Council meeting in Lokoja.

On the deposition of Onimisi, Governor Bello said the title “OBOBANYI OF IHIMA”, which reads on the promotion letter, upgrading the stool to first-class status, “was done without cognisance to the fact that the title; “OBOBANYI OF IHIMA” is a subject of litigation and the court of law is yet to arrive at the possible final decision, as such, the Government have however received several petitions, calling attention to the need to revert and maintain status quo, until the court of law decides.”

“To this end, the stool is hereby reverted to “OBOBANYI OF EMANI” as the present occupant remains deposed.” he also said.

Fresh Appointments
On the following stools, after due intervention by the Government to resolve the lingering controversies that have characterised the selection process, the Government hereby, come up with the following appointments of the next occupants.

That: “Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Anaje, who is the OHI OF OKENWE, is herby appointed as the OHINOYI OF EBIRALAND. as well as Alhaji Ibrahim Gambo Kabir is hereby appointed as the MAIGARI OF LOKOJA.and Alhaji Dauda Isah, is hereby appointed as the MAIYAKI OF KUPA.”

“Mallam Saidu Akawo Salihu was also appointed as the OHIMEGE-IGU KOTON- and he his to be turban immediately.”

Kogi State Governor, His Excellency Yahaya Bello, CON, takes a decisive and strategic action on Monday, January 8, by dissolving the State Executive Council. This significant move serves as a recalibration of the governance trajectory and signifies the initiation of the comprehensive transition process as the ‘New Direction Administration’ gracefully concludes its tenure. Heads of agencies, parastatals and other appointees are also affected by the announcement.

While making the announcement at the end of the State Executive Council Meeting on Monday at the EXCO Hall of the governor’s office , governor Bello commends affected officials for exemplifying unparalleled commitment, diligence, and unwavering patriotism throughout their tenure.

The commendation bestowed upon the outgoing Executive Council members during the session on Monday echoes the governor’s appreciation for their years of dedicated service to the state. Acknowledging their contributions, Governor Bello wishes them success in their future endeavors, a sentiment extended to all heads of agencies and other appointees whose roles are now concluded.

Government officials affected by this announcement are instructed to ensure a thorough and proper handover process, transferring all pertinent government documents, properties, and materials to the permanent secretary of their ministries or senior government officials stationed in their respective offices.

However, the governor retained the following members of the council and aides; the Secretary to the Government of Kogi State, Mrs Ayoade Folashade Arike, PhD, Rtd Navy Commodore Jerry Omodara, State Security Adviser, Hon Sunday Faleke, Deputy Chief of Staff, Alh Oricha Umaru Shaibu, Director-General, Government House Administration, Barr Mohammed Sanni Ibrahim, SAN, Attorney General and commissioner for Justice, Abubakar Bashir Mohammed, Commissioner for Solid Mineral and Natural Resources, Kingsley Olorunfemi Fanwo, Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mohammed Ihiezue Abdulmutalib, Commissioner for Rural and Energy Development, Asiru Idris Asiwaju, Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Abdulsalam Ozigi Momodu, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Wemi Jones, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Yakubu Yusuf Okala, State Auditor-General, Musa Bashiru Ohu, Special Adviser to the Governor (government House Imam), Hadi Ametuo, Special Adviser on Political Matters.

Others also retained by the governor are; Dr Abdulazeez Adams Adeiza, Personal Physician to the Governor, Onogwu Muhammed, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sunday Bamidele Ayenibe, Director- General Protocol, Afolabi Joseph Raji, Special Adviser on Special Duties II,Moses Okezie-Okafor, Director-General, Research and Development, and Ahovi Salami Ibrahim. Not affected by the dissolution are all domestic staff to the governor and deputy governor including those of their spouses

Similarly, governor Bello makes new appointment of the following persons to fill the vital vacant positions in the state;

Habibat Oyiza Tijani, State’s Accountant-General, Abdulrazaq Muhammed, Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, Auditor-General for Local Governments, Kadiri Mohammed Okeji, Special Adviser on Finance, Isah Taofeeq, Director-General, Project Monitoring Agency.

In order to strengthening the security architecture of the State in the area of intelligence and information gathering, governor Bello also appoints the following persons as Security Advisers from all the Federal Constituencies of the State;

Goke Okparison, Zonal Security Adviser, Okene/Ogori Fed Constituency, Mustapha Aliyu Aka’aba, Zonal Security Adviser, Ajaokuta Fed Constituency, Salami Joseph Omuya, Zonal Security Adviser, Adavi/Okehi Fed Constituency, Olorunleke Moses, Zonal Security Adviser, Kabba/Ijumu Fed Constituency, Muhammed Mundi, Zonal Security Adviser, Lokoja/Koton Karfe Fed Constituency, Pius Kolawole, Zonal Security Adviser, Yagba Fed Constituency, Kabiru Adaji Zonal Security Adviser, Dekina/Bassa Fed Conkstituency, Ayuba Nana, Zonal Security Adviser, Ankpa Federal Constituency, and Abu Odoma, Zonal Security Adviser, Idah Federal Constituency. These appointments take effect immediately.

Governor Bello charges the newly appointed officials with a clarion call for total commitment, unwavering patriotism, and steadfast dedication in the discharge of their duties. The governor adds that efficiency, competence, and the relentless pursuit of progress must be prioritised

ONOGWU Muhammed
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor
January 8, 2024

Kogi State ranked in 7th in the States Fiscal Transparency League Out of 36 States in Nigeria. #thinkkogiproject

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ADDRESS DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR YAHAYA BELLO OF KOGI STATE AT THE 4TH COMBINED CONVOCATION CEREMONIES OF KOGI STATE POLYTECHNIC, LOKOJA, ON 6TH JANUARY, 2024

Protocols

I am honored to address this 4th Combined Convocation of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja. This marks my inaugural attendance as the Visitor to the Institution since assuming office in 2016. I have, of course, visited the Campus on several occasions to inspect ongoing and completed projects which we undertook to improve the quality of your curricular and extracurricular activities. It is therefore a source of personal joy to experience firsthand the radical transformation which your school has undergone under our Administration over the last 8 years.

I wish to commend the grand visions of the current management of the school led by your very indefatigable Rector, Dr. Salisu Ogbo Usman in the years that they have been in Office for overcoming some decades-long challenges which confronted the school in the past – for instance, ensuring that today’s celebration becomes a regular academic tradition. Our commendations also go to the Governing Council, Academic Board, Polytechnic Assembly, staff, and students without whose willing efforts and strong support Dr. Ogbo and his team could not have achieved any of the milestones that has turned a once backward and chaotic institution into the citadel of academic excellence and discipline that we are here to celebrate today.

Congratulations to the graduates, you are the pride of this institution and the stars of today’s events. The fact that you are part of this Convocation is proof that you have been adjudged worthy in character and learning to be certified as products of our great Kogi State Polytechnic. This achievement proves that you possess the ability to start the pursuit of something significant and commit to it until completed – a trait which is empirically recognized as a primary contributor to success in life. I must appreciate parents, guardians, and the institution for their joint and respective roles in your success.

This Convocation is another legacy milestone in our commitment to the growth and development of education Kogi State. We were been able to unveil our New Direction Blueprint in Kogi State Polytechnic, and just like we did in all our tertiary institutions, we were steadfast in the pursuit of educational and infrastructural transformation of this School. Today, as all stakeholders can testify, we have enforced stability and progress for this school – allowing both staff and students to proceed with their respective career and learning objectives here unhindered. The case is the same in all our higher institutions across Kogi State.

Key to this success is our restoration of an unbroken academic calendar, ensuring predictable and timely graduation for all students who come here with a sense of purpose and a willingness to work hard at their studies. I am indeed proud that none of you can say that you lost even a moment of your life to industrial action under my watch. Not many of your colleagues in other public Polytechnics in this country can claim the same.

Infrastructure development is a crucial component of our governance Blueprint, and it is evident to you all that Kogi State Polytechnic received her own fair share of attention in that regard. We thank Zenith Bank Plc and other private sector partners who joined hands with us to transform hostels and other campus utilities. Our gratitude also goes to the Federal Government and her agencies like TETFund for working alongside us to provide better living and study conditions for our students.

Of course, none of the foregoing will make any sense if your lives and properties are not safe and secure on this Campus. This led us to tackle the violent cultism that has claimed the lives of many students, along with other social vices that used to be endemic, both on this Campus and in other tertiary institutions in the State. With the full collaboration of staff and students of goodwill here we have been able to expunged the rotten eggs while fostering an environment where students and lecturers can thrive without fear.

Our commitment to the all-round development of your school and to your own progress also extended to the academic front in the form of accreditation for new programmes of study and the re-accreditation of existing ones. We also saw to it that the quality of academic instructions available to you is nothing short of excellent by investing in the requisite human capital through a deliberate policy of merit in staff recruitment and rewards, including promotions.

Your experience here reflects our commitment to the provision of quality and affordable education in a conducive environment in all public institutions in Kogi State. The establishment of two new universities in the State, namely, the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara and the Kogi State University (KSU), Kabba reflect our response to the rising demand for higher education among our populace. There is no doubt that our Administration has kept the promises we made to our people to improve education and other modern indices of development.

In conclusion, I thank the people of Kogi State and the Kogi State Polytechnic community for their votes in the 2023 Kogi State Governorship Elections which helped to ensure victory for our candidates. As we work towards the transition to a new Administration on the 27th of January, 2024 I assure you that His Excellency, Governor-Elect Usman Ododo will uphold our vision for Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja by ensuring sustained progress in the development of this beloved institution. I solicit your continued support for the incoming team.

Once again, I celebrate our graduands as well as their parents/guardians, and the various support structures which stood behind them to make this day possible. They have been equipped to excel in their various fields and I charge them to go forth and boldly take their place in life as worthy ambassadors of this great and veritable citadel of excellent scholarship.

May 2024 bring increased productivity, promotion and prosperity to Kogi State, to Nigeria – and to us all.

Thank you, and God bless.

YAHAYA BELLO, CON
Governor of Kogi State
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SPECIAL NEW YEAR MESSAGE BY HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR YAHAYA BELLO OF KOGI STATE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF KOGI STATE ON NEW YEAR’S DAY, 1ST JANUARY, 2024

Fellow Kogites,

Welcome to 2024. For all of us fortunate enough to have seen the new year, it is only proper that we acknowledge the divine power that brought us through. Thus, as we bid farewell to 2023 and receive the new year that we have been given, let us do so with joy, collectively thankful to the Almighty God for life, the most precious gift of all.

The past year presented many challenges, true, but it also gave us major triumphs, both of which make up the fabric of existence. It was a year that tested the mettle of individuals, peoples and nations, confronting us with all forms of challenges, but also presenting us with manifold opportunities. For Nigeria, and especially our beloved state, Kogi, I will only say that the past 12 months testified to our resilience and fortitude. Our battles and victories reflect, not our wisdom or strength, but the mercy and help that the Almighty God, to Whom be all glory, bestowed upon us.

On the 27th of January, 2024 we will mark the conclusion of the 8th year of our audacious journey in the New Direction Administration in Kogi State. By the grace of God, all people of goodwill can testify that we made each successive year to bring forth fruits that signify our brutal commitment to the progress of Kogi State. The cumulative results of our first and second terms reflect deliberate and sustained efforts during our tenure to fulfill the promises we made to you, our dear citizens.

The legacies we are leaving behind across the state echo louder as a scorecard than any words. They are the eloquent proof of our dedication to transformational leadership and effective governance that we promised you. Prioritizing you and your needs was my chief promise during my first Inauguration when I declared that my Administration would make all of Kogi’s resources work for all of Kogi’s people. Well, at this tail-end of our second term, we make bold to say that we have delivered on that promise to the best of our abilities, having regards to the state of the nation and the limitations imposed by available resources.

In the First Term (2016 – 2019) we focused our agenda on five (5) thematic areas, namely, Education, Health, Job
Creation & Youth Empowerment, Infrastructure & Utilities, and Public Service & Pension Reforms. We expanded to nine (9) thematic areas in the Second Term (2019 – 2024) by the addition of Agriculture, Human Capital Development, Entrepreneurship & Youth Engagement, Security as well as Cooperation and Integration (the Socio-cultural Agenda) to the existing five focal areas. Today, our efforts in all of these areas of governance and more stand tall in spite of severe economic and security challenges.

Our New Direction Administration broke new grounds, literally, in all our chosen priority areas. Today, hundreds of newly constructed or reconstructed primary, secondary and tertiary educational and health institutions are available for your use in communities across the State. This second term in particular saw intensified upgrade of public infrastructure and utilities in the state, with our secondary and tertiary educational and healthcare institutions being major beneficiaries. Our achievements include the founding of two brand new universities which are currently in session and the construction of a 300-bed Reference Hospital at Okene and at least 6 full-fledged District hospitals in our State. There has also been a complete overhaul of the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, transforming it into a centre of healthcare excellence.

We all know how societal inequalities are often rooted in financial disinclusion, so, beside the vastly improved engineering infrastructure across board, we also instituted free education and a sweeping health insurance scheme across primary to secondary educational and healthcare levels. This is part of our resolve to alleviate the financial burden on our people. This will ensure that even the poorest and most vulnerable among us can access the services at these revitalized institutions. Today, the Government of Kogi State covers basic medicare and all examination fees (WAEC, NECO, and JAMB) for all citizens enrolled in the appropriate service. Recently, we paid four hundred and ninety-seven million for the 2023 WAEC examinations for all students in our public schools.

Let me mention that I am also especially proud of our uninterrupted academic calendars in Kogi State since 2017. Given the incessant industrial actions that steals at least one full year out of life for every student studying in our public higher institutions, it is gratifying to report that universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions in Kogi State have operated seamlessly for the past seven years under our stewardship, providing uninterrupted sessions to all scholars. I am also urging the Federal and our fellow State Governments as well as all stakeholders to chart sustainable means of resolving their differences so that the hemorrhage of productive years suffered by our public school students can end.

Despite the severe financial constraints, we remained steadfast in providing you with security of lives and properties, promoting unity in our diversity and doing everything humanly possible to maintain the peace. We also achieved remarkable indices in Affirmative Action for gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. Our appointments reflect that we crossed the 35% affirmative action threshold years ago. The mainstreaming of inclusion for persons with special needs in both governance and society has also been an acclaimed priority on which we also made substantial progress.

This new year message is not the place to reel out a comprehensive rundown of our achievements. For that, you will have to wait for my handover speech in 26 days’ time. What is key now is that you, the great people of Kogi State, have given me my choice of a successor in the person of Governor-Elect Ahmed Usman Ododo and his deputy, Joel Oyibo Salifu, whom you elected so resoundingly on November 11, 2023. My dear Kogites, I extend heartfelt gratitude. Your confidence in our New Direction reinforces our conviction that it is indeed the Right Direction.

The outcome of the 2023 Kogi State Governorship Elections is the greatest mark of approval you could have given to me as my time in Lugard House winds down, for now I can be certain, as far as is humanly possible, that our legacies will be continued and consolidated. Therefore, as transition to the incoming Administration proceeds apace, let me reassure you that I have utmost confidence in the Team that will be taking over from me. His Excellency, Ahmed Usman Ododo and his No. 2 will not only build upon the solid foundation laid by my Administration but they will be armed with a painstakingly drafted Blueprint for even more accelerated and proportional development for Kogi State in all her constituencies.

They can of course do nothing without the help of God and your support. We are convinced that God will help them so, while thanking you for the solid support you have always given me in the last 8 years, I am passionately soliciting that you extend even more of it to them.

Once again, we thank the Almighty God for Year 2024. Congratulations on being counted among those alive to witness and live it. I pray that it will bring increase, promotion and enhanced productivity for each one of us, our beloved state, Kogi, and our great country, Nigeria. Accordingly, I wish all of us a happy and prosperous New Year!

Thank you, and God bless.

YAHAYA BELLO, CON
Governor of Kogi State