Nigerian politician and businessman Yahaya Adoza Bello. Since 2016, he has served as governor of Kogi State.
All Progressives Party member Bello is Nigeria’s youngest governor. He ran for president in the party’s 2023 primaries but was defeated by politician Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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- Name: Yahaya Bello
- Date of birth: June 18, 1975
- Place of birth: Kogi
- Occupation: Politician
- Net worth: $5 million
Early life
Yahaya Bello Adoza was born on 18 June 1975 in Agassa, Okene Local Government Area, Kogi State to Alhaji Bello Ipemida Ochi and Hajia Hawa Bello Oziohu. He is the sixth and youngest child in a family of six children and is an indigene of Kogi State.
In 1984, he started his primary education at LGEA Primary School in Agassa, Okene LGA. He later attended Anyava, Agassa Community Secondary School of Agassa-Okene.
But he did not stop there with his secondary education. He attended several schools before graduating from the Suleja-Niger State Government Secondary School.
Bello went on to sit for his ‘A’ level examinations at Kaduna State Polytechnic in Zaria in 1995 and was admitted to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria in 1996 to study accounting. In 1999, he obtained a degree in accounting.
Yahaya graduated from ABU, Zaria, with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2004. He holds a valid research fellow status from ANAN, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.
Career
After serving a year in NYSC, he was hired by the Revenue Allocation and Mobilization Commission (RMAFC) and worked there in 2002. He started working as a Revenue Officer but was soon promoted to Accountant.
He was later hired as an Assistant Chief Accountant before leaving the commission. Before the stock market crash, Alhaji Yahaya Bello achieved financial success after finally learning the stock trading strategy.
His stock portfolio included transportation, financial, oil and gas, and agricultural companies. He then expanded and added to his real estate portfolio, spreading it across several states in the federation.
He serves as the managing director of FairPlus International Limited and chairman of the Kogi Arise Youth Forum.
He formed the Kogi Arise Youth Group along with other politically minded young people to launch his political career.
The group supported the presidential campaigns of Buhari and Osinbajo in the previous election. The group also mobilised youths across the 239 wards of the state to support President Buhari.
He announced his intention to run for governor in the 2015 elections on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), attracting enthusiastic support from youths across the state who wanted one of their own to lead Kogi to a better future.
On 6 December 2015, Yahaya Bello succeeded the previous APC candidate Abubakar Audu who died on 22 November leaving the Kogi State governorship race inconclusive.
He was sworn in as governor of Kogi state on 27 January 2016.
Yahaya Bello to run for President in 2023
In April, Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, publicly announced that he would run for president in 2023.
In his speech, Governor Bello pledged to build on the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari by bringing wealth to 20 million citizens by 2030.
Despite coming in second in the primary, Bello asserted that the lessons learned from the contest were successfully absorbed and will be useful in future political endeavors.
Personal life
Governor Yahaya Bello is married to three women and is a devout Muslim. He is blessed with a large family. Some of his hobbies include reading, traveling, driving, football and boxing.
Social media
- Twitter: @OfficialGYBKogi
- Instagram: @officialgybkogi
Net worth
Throughout his career as a politician and businessman, Yahaya Bello has amassed a lot of money. He is one of the richest governors in Nigeria, with a reported net worth of $5 million.
