Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State reveals how he stopped some civil servants and public office holders from diverting government’s funds. The governor, whose second term would be terminating in January, 2024, while fielding questions from journalists last weekend at the 3rd Annual Governor Yahaya Bello Seminar for Nigeria’s Political and Crime Correspondents/Editors in Abuja bares his mind on some of his giant strides in the state since he assumed office in 2016 and why the people of the state will vote the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the November 11 governorship election, Ahmad Usman Ododo among other issues. TIMOTHY AGBOR brings excerpts:
There were reports that you allegedly cut off the road to Natasha Akpoti’s constituency during the last general elections. What really happened?
During elections, we don’t halt any infrastructural development. At that point, we had to continue if we had to proceed on road construction that is number one.
Number two, you know that particular election was characterized with a lot of fake uniformed personnel coming to invade or disrupt our elections and as the Chief Security Officer of the state, the Chief intelligence Officer of the state who would not fail to react and allow criminals to take over the process of our electioneering. We acted based on intelligence to deter criminals, not the electioneering body, not voters, not contestants, from gaining access to our enclave. So, we took a decision to prevent criminals from evading our electioneering process.
How did Alhaji Usman Ododo emerge as the governorship candidate of the APC in Kogi State and how do you react to insinuations that he is your cousin?
Ahmad Usman Ododo and myself, we have no blood relation whatsoever. Yes, Ahmad Usman Ododo might come from where I come from but in Kogi and where we are headed to, we try to put aside the sentiment of ethnicity, religion, or class.
Nineteen years of ethnic sentiment in Kogi State brought us to where we were before I came on board and till today, we talk of merit.
We have broken the jinx of ethnicity and religious politics in Kogi State and of course, class difference. In the past, it is who you are, your father, your uncle or who you know before you are either elected or appointed to various offices.
Today, we raised people from humble backgrounds and today, they are leaders in their various rights as far as Kogi State is concerned. And Hon. Ahmad Usman Ododo, a very compassionate, very wonderful fellow emerged in a very keenly contested primary elections and he won overwhelmingly under the platform of APC and today, he is poised to win the governorship election this coming November 11, 2023 and definitely, he is going to take over from me.
What are you doing on issues of security in Kogi State as it affects attacks on campaign offices?
Yes, I received such a report and the security agencies are up and doing to ensure that all political thugs and criminals irrespective of political parties are caged and brought to justice before, during and after the election but I want to assure you that election of November 2023 in Kogi State will not only be free, fair and credible, it would be the most peaceful. I have supervised several elections before the next coming one and we continue to learn and improve every day in terms of performance and this next one is going to be very secure.
Before I arrived here, one of the issues that delayed me was the issue of handling security and strategizing to ensure that all forms of criminals are taken care of adequately before that day and I trust all the law enforcement agencies, the police being the leading agency and other security agencies, they will do excellently well before the election, even during the campaign.
I want to assure you that the election is going to be free, fair and credible and the most peaceful in the history of election, both in Kogi State and Nigeria.
We always lead and others follow. We are going to take a lead this time around and that next election by the grace of God will produce Ahmad Usman Ododo freely and fairly and of course, we are going to campaign on issues.
Where we met Kogi State, where we are today, and where we are headed. And the citizens of Kogi State are ready to elect Ahmad Usman Ododo, the candidate of APC overwhelmingly, on November 11, 2023.
You cannot be a leading candidate; you cannot be a winning candidate that is accepted by the people and then you are perpetuating crimes and criminalities or thuggery; so, we are not going to allow that to happen in Kogi State.
“Secondly, we ensured that we expand the revenue base of our state. There are so many revenue sources that we have not harnessed before and how we do that, we ensured that legislature; we made use of legislation”
A lot of states in Nigeria are making plans for their states beyond oil. If you do a count for several states, you will realize that many of them depend on Federal Government allocation for survival. On that basis, we want you to tell us what you have done about growing the state through IGR and without the Federal Government support, how can Kogi State grow?
When I assumed office, our IGR was between N250 million and N300 million. The state was operating from the two bedroom or two room office as our own Internal Revenue Service. Of course, my background is that of Accounting and Revenue Mobilisation as well. We sat down, we took a look at the situation we met in office, we blocked all the loopholes and then many heads were distributed among key political actors and leaders across the state. So, we blocked all the loopholes. Hence, one of the reasons there was those hues and cries in Kogi State.
Secondly, we ensured that we expand the revenue base of our state. There are so many revenue sources that we have not harnessed before and how we do that, we ensured that legislature; we made use of legislation. Kogi was actually run then just like a farmland where there are no rules and regulations and laws. My administration, through the then Assembly and the current one, assisted in formulating various laws that we use in driving in a lot of revenues.
Also, we ensured that people pay their taxes. Before, payees were not remitted. If it is deducted, either the civil servants or some few political office holders will make away with them and they will not pay to the coffers of both state and the Federal Government.
We ensured that all of these were tackled. And let me give you another idea moving forward, Kogi State has a lot of solid minerals and we are embarking on a policy where we will benefit more from our solid minerals that we have today.
There is no record of how these solid minerals are mined on a daily basis. Let me give you one example, few weeks back, I had an interaction with one of the investors in coal deposits in one of the locals in Ankpa Local Government in Kogi State and there were issues of illegal mining and legal mining and he told me to drive away all the illegal miners.
Meanwhile, in our policies, we say we are going to recognise the artisanal miners in the state. So, he wanted me to clear them off completely. So, we went into certain engagements. To cut the whole story short, we discovered that this man has been making away with about seven to eight of mine companies that are mining coal in that local government.
They are not taking away anything less than N10 to N15 billion monthly from that local government alone. Meanwhile, if you go to that local government, it is an eyesore and what have they paid in tax, I don’t think it is up to 0.0001 percent.
So, we are embarking on a policy that involves both the community and the artisanal miners, the state and the Federal Government will have full record of what is being taken away from that area alone so that we will have full benefits of our resources.
So, I am sure you are aware that of recent, seeming feud between Kogi State Government and one of the richest man in Africa and I think it is a situation that was not palatable if you should hear the full story and I know that before the end of this administration or the next coming administration, we will take it up head-on by the grace of God and ensure that we take fill benefit of the solid mineral deposits in that area and I will propose to the Federal Government that I think it is better we look towards fiscal federalism. I will advocate for that.
In Nigeria, mineral deposits, solid, liquid and gaseous, abound everywhere in this country. We should not be lazy in thinking and in action.
I appreciate Mr. President (Bola Tinubu) who is moving round the world to woo investors to come to Nigeria. There are several areas that can be invested here, in this country, and we have no reason whatsoever to be poor.
