Yahaya Bello
By Abdullahi Abubakar
Kogi State under the watch of former governor, Yahaya Bello, spent the sum of N17,662,200,367.88 to service debts in 2023.
This was according to an assessment of the State Budget Performance for the fourth quarter of 2023, which revealed that despite large public funds spent on debt repayment, the state only generated N23,658,077,029.33 in income during the period.
This means Yahaya Bello spent almost 74% of the state’s Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) to repay interests incurred on domestic and foreign loan agreements.
The breakdown, according to the State Auditor General Report for 2023, shows that Yahaya Bello’s government spent N8,518,202,244.77 on Domestic Loan Interest.
Yahaya Bello had governed the state from 2016 to 2024.
A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bello was the youngest governor in Nigeria throughout his term in office.
He is currently remanded in Kogi prison after he was arraigned by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption and fraud.
His bail application was rejected by Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday.
The judge said that as of 22nd of November when the application was filed, the 1st defendant was not in custody.
“Why was the application filed when the 1st defendant was not in custody. The implication of this is the jurisdiction of the court was invoked too early,” the judge said.
Having been filed when the circumstances were not present the instant application was prematurely filed.
The court therefore agreed with the prosecution that the motion was incompetent.
“The motion for bail filed by the 1st defendant is accordingly struck out,” the court ruled.
The EFCC counsel, Dr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, had vehemently countered the bail application, citing the antics of the former governor who had been running from pillar to post.
