Kogi State: How did ‘benevolent Governor Ododo’ spend N100bn in one year?

• Kogi may have earned over N200bn in one year if FAAC allocations to LGs and IGR are added to allocations to FAAC disbursement to the state government

• The most visible projects are two major roads, totalling 15 kilometres

• ‘He has reduced tension through prompt payment of salaries’

• Ex-Governor Yahaya Bello’s ‘divide and rule’ tactics are still the order of the day

• Kogi elders must come together to salvage the state

By Theophilus Abbah

On Monday, January 27, 2025, Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, hosted Vice President Kashim Shettima, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) leadership, led by Dr Umar Ganduje, Edo State Governor  Monday Okpebholo, National Assembly and State Assembly lawmakers representing various constituencies in the state and a sprinkling number of state officials. The most visible spectacle, however, was a swarm of political thugs and praise singers who amplified Ododo’s ‘great and monumental achievements’ through thunder of songs, dances and drums in the North-Central State capital Lokoja.

Vice-President Shettima and Governor Ododo on January 27, 2025 in Lokoja

But what exactly were these landmark achievements? A 9-km Zone 8-Zango Daji-Kaduna Junction Road; a 5.5km Zone 8-Crusher Road, and a ‘state-of-the-art 350-bed hostel facility’ for the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) in Osara. Other projects inaugurated included a demonstration farm, two new faculties at CUSTECH, and several primary healthcare centres across the state.

The two roads have a long political history. Former Governor Idris Wada awarded the Zone 8-Zango Daji-Kaduna Junction Road in 2015, three months before his loss in the 2015 governorship election. Former Governor Yahaya Bello, who benefited from the tragedy of the 2015 election, failed to complete the project in his eight years in Lugard House.

Zone 8-Crusher Road had become an eyesore in Lokoja, and a cross-section of civil society groups had repeatedly cried out for it to be constructed. Several important institutions, such as the Department of State Security (DSS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Police Force Zone, the State House of Assembly, and the State Judiciary, are symbols of power and beauty in the zone.

The road was left in disrepair. It did the bitter and angry job of damaging cars, making motorists hate the area like hell.  As his exit from power loomed, just three months before the 2023 Governorship election, Yahaya Bello awarded the contract for its construction. The people of Kogi State, therefore, had every cause to jubilate and clap hands for Ododo for completing the road projects that defeated two of his predecessors.

Vice President Shettima commissioning one of the two major projects showcased by Governor Ododo to mark his first anniversary in Lugard House on January 27, 2025

However, the euphoria that erupted in Lokoja on the anniversary was too loud, though it was rooted in the disastrous eight years of former Governor Yahaya Bello. The anniversary signified a breath of fresh air, not for developmental projects but for the wind of benevolence that blew across the state, especially among civil servants and pensioners.

“Things are better now,” Friday Adaidu, a state civil servant, told The Insight. “Now we receive our salaries in full, and timely. This government is workers-friendly. We thank God for that.”

Under the erstwhile government, civil servants received a confounding and complicated scheme termed ‘percentage salaries’, which saw a civil servant who should earn N150,000 monthly, being paid N20,000, and told to his face that the government no longer owed him. Governor Ododo’s government has ripped off that page from the Kogi Civil Service practice. To add to this act of benevolence, the state government approved the payment of N72,000, as minimum wage, in October 2024.  Perhaps, this speaks in favour of him rather than volumes and multiplicity of projects.

Mr Miliki Idris, the Chief Executive Officer of the Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolutions, based in Lokoja, used a phrase, ‘previous tension’, to describe the situation in the state. He said, “The previous tension in Kogi State over non-payment of workers salaries has eased. The little this governor has accomplished is seen as much by many because the previous government created serious tension in this state. That does not mean the governor [Ododo] does not have many shortcomings. We have observed many of his shortcomings and mentioned it to them.”

Showers cash in Ododo’s era:

In the last year, Governor Ododo has received more than N100 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the coffers of the State Government. A relatively equal allocation has been paid to the state in the name of the 21 local government areas. Also, in an interview with TVC Television, Governor Ododo revealed that every month, the state had raked in N2.3 billion on average, though he envisaged as much as N5 billion in the next few months.  It means that, put moderately, the state accumulated about N227 billion in the last year.

The state government has benefitted from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s painful removal of fuel subsidies. From an average of N7 billion monthly allocation, almost double the N3.5 billion the state received under erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari, the state received as much as N10 billion for October and N11 billion in November 2024. As at the time of filing this report, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation had not published the breakdown of allocations for December 2024 which was shared in January 2025. The devaluation of the Naira caused the Value Added Tax (VAT) collection to soar; it bolstered the money that accrued to the state from Abuja.

What did the governor do with this deluge of financial flow? In his exclusive interview with TVC, Ododo talked about the regular payment of salaries in the state since he became governor in 2024.  Sources within the government told The Insight that the wage bill was between N3.9 billion and N4 billion monthly.

Governor Ododo further talked about demonstration farms, meant to mop up youths from the state’s unemployment data; the construction of hostels at the CUSTECH, and, perhaps, the two road projects, a total of 14.5 kilometres, which were commissioned by Vice President Shettima on January 27.  In Nigeria, it is estimated that the construction of a kilometre of an asphalt road will cost about N1 billion. This amount is four times the average cost of constructing a kilometre road in other African countries. Using the corrupt-laden figure as what may have been spent on the roads commissioned by the Vice-President on January 27, it follows, therefore, that the most visible project Governor Ododo accomplished in his first year was valued at about N15 billion. That amount may have been generated from IGR alone, without recourse to FAAC allocations from Abuja.

Well-meaning as Governor Ododo might be, it is feared that some of the funds that accrued to Kogi State may have been expended in the legal battles of his benefactor, former Governor Yahaya Bello. It is not clear if the Kogi State government’s treasury has been unzipped for payments to the top lawyers engaged to defend the former governor of those allegations, but Governor Ododo is found all around Yahaya Bello as Bello was dragged before one judge after another over allegations of multibillion Naira frauds from Kogi State treasury in his eight years as Chief Executive Officer of Kogi.

A press statement by Kogi State Government

Many critics of the controversial and perverted 2023 election that produced Ododo suspect that Yahaya Bello’s desperation to have Ododo as his successor was to cover his back and track if or when the expected fraud allegations against him were raised.

Despite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) evidence over alleged fraud against Bello, the Kogi State government had gone all out to say its funds were not missing. It will amount to a disservice to the State and injustice to the people if the state government picks Yahaya Bello’s legal bills. The former governor is being accused of looting the same state; why should the state write off his legal fees?

Ododo walks on Yahaya Bello’s divide-and-rule path

Former Governor Bello practised the mischievous “divide and rule” theory, a political and military strategy where a ruler maintains power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces, such that individually they have less power to checkmate wrongdoings or demand accountability.

In his eight years as ‘white lion’ in Kogi state, from 2015 to 2023, Bello pitched the three senatorial districts against each other in five ways. First, he encouraged divisions and conflicts between the groups to prevent them from uniting against him; promoted distrust, ensuring they remained suspicious of each other; maintained direct control over smaller groups, reducing the likelihood of a unified rebellion; allocated resources in a way that increases dependency him; and used loyalty manipulation by rewarding certain groups or individuals to ensure their allegiance. Unable to come together, the elders of the three main sections of the state watched helplessly while Bello suspiciously plundered the state of its resources without challenge from both political and civil society groups.

Ododo told his audience, among them the Vice President, that the state was united

During the anniversary event on January 27, Ododo told his audience, among them the Vice President, that the state was united. He had said, “I directed my team to ensure that every Kogite who is a stakeholder be brought to this table, regardless of political beliefs or tribal differences. Political and tribal differences are not strong enough to dim our light or greatness as a state.”

But he does not seem to walk the path of equity, unity and justice, looking at the appointments to positions in the state, the allocation of resources and the distribution of development projects. His cabinet is populated by the same set of executives used by Bello in his divisive tactics so his critics complain that the state may need to be renamed as ‘Okene State’.

The following important positions are held by persons from Okene Local Government Area in Kogi Central Senatorial District: Governor, his Chief of Staff; Kogi State Accountant-General; Chairman of Kogi State Internal Revenue; Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board; Commissioner for Justice; Commissioner for Rural and Energy Development; Commissioner for Health; Head of Service; Head of the Kogi State Pension Board; Director-General of the Government House; and Director-General of Lands Commission. Another Local Government in Kogi Central that benefits from Ododo’s appointments is Okehi. The following executive members hail from there: Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Commissioner for Women Affairs; Auditor-General of Local Governments (the position Ododo held before becoming governor); Chairman of Kogi State Security Trust Funds. The Commissioner for Works is from Advai LGC in Kogi Central, the section of Kogi State from where the Clerk of the State House of Assembly hails.

With these strategic positions allocated to persons from Kogi Central, the other two senatorial districts, Kogi East and Kogi West, share a sprinkle of ‘rubber stamp’ agencies. The table at the end of the page provides a glimpse into the lopsided distribution of the positions in the state.

Kogi: A state of inequity, against 1999 Constitution

When the 28 top political positions in Kogi State are shared among the three senatorial districts the ratios are awkward and fail to align with basic arithmetical formula.  The senatorial district with the largest landmass, producer of crude oil, and the most populous, Kogi East, is allocated minority chairs at the table of power.  It is allocated 4 seats, constituting 14 per cent of political appointments, less than half of the 36 per cent allocated to Kogi West, and about a fourth of the 50 per cent of the political positions to Kogi Central, from where Governor Ododo originates.

This runs contrary to the spirit of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which emphasizes equity, justice and fair play in the distribution of political positions in Nigeria. Section 14 (3) and Section 14(4) state clearly: (3) The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or any of its agencies. (4) The composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of the Federation.  Section 147 (3) of the Constitution adds that “(3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall conform with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution: – provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.”

If the above principles were adhered to, it follows that Kogi East with nine local governments, should produce at least nine executive positions out of the 28 top positions. Instead, Governor Ododo’s executive is populated by persons of his ethnic group in Kogi Central. The governor inherited this lopsided distribution of power from ex-Governor Bello, who threw equity and justice to the dust in his magisterial governance in the fashion of banditry in Kogi State.

“This is unfair and shows a lack of equity,” Idris argued, but he quickly added, “Unfortunately, that has been the situation in Kogi State over the years.” According to him, previous Kogi State governors, who hailed from Kogi East senatorial district made such lopsided appointments. However, from available data, the appointments by the previous governors tended to graduate based on the number of local governments per senatorial district. They did not meanly squeeze out Koge East from governance, as it is currently practised.

Dr Tom Adaba, in a press release in 2015, criticised former Governor Idris Wada over disproportional appointments of commissioners. But the data shows that the inequity was not as bewildering as it is now.

Adaba, an astute communication scholar who, at the peak of his robust career, became the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), downplayed the data on population, number of local governments, and landmass distribution in Kogi State, in his effort to magnify perceived ‘injustice’ perpetrated by Kogi East.

Then adorning the toga of Chairman, Media & Publicity, Kogi West and Central Forum for Equity and Justice, he had said, “Audu’s 6-years of governance of two terms produced 17 Commissioners out of which 9 were from the East, while 4 each came from the West and Central regions respectively…Wada’s government [had] 18 Commissioners out of which 9 are from the East, 5 West and 4 Central.” It was not clear why Dr Adaba deliberately omitted the two-term tenure of Governor Ibrahim Idris, from 2003 to 2011.  However, if Governor Ododo was imitating the ‘injustice’ by previous governors from Kogi East, this disproportionate distribution of the political positions has surpassed the misdeed of the systems he attempts to imitate.

Source: Nairaland.com: https://www.nairaland.com/2504803/wada-lied-how-igalas-marginalized

The inequity is not limited to the appointment into top political jobs; appointments into the agencies of state government are much more lopsided, as Kogi East has been virtually removed from the seats of the Chief Executive Officers of agencies. The two state government-owned tertiary institutions in Kogi East, the Prince Abubakar Audu University, Ayangba, and the College of Education, Ankpa, are headed by persons from outside Kogi East. But the CEOs of the other tertiary educational institutions in Kogi Central and Kogi West are headed by candidates from Kogi West and Kogi Central, except Kogi State Polytechnic.

I’ll bring everybody together to make Kogi great – Ododo

Undoubtedly, Kogi State’s inequity belies Ododo’s claim in a TVC interview where he said, “I’ll bring everybody together to make Kogi State great.” Governor Ododo is running a political system that clearly illustrates the concept of nepotism. Nepotism in government is giving family members or close associates preferential treatment in government positions. It can occur in political appointments or administrative roles. It is dangerous for the development of any state because it undermines merit, erodes public trust, reinforces inequality, reduces efficiency and undermines democratic principles.

The leaders of the state are sucked into the divide-and-rule mechanism drilled into governance by ex-Governor Yahaya Bello

Though this nepotism is ruining Kogi State, the leaders of the state are sucked into the divide-and-rule mechanism drilled into governance by ex-Governor Yahaya Bello. They scramble for the crumbs that drop from Bello’s empire, instead of rising together against the schemes and wiles of the ‘white lion’ that have made the state cave in. The way out of this rivalry among the ethnic groups is for the Kogi West, Kogi Central and Kogi East leaders to come together to reclaim the state from ‘emperor’ Yahaya Bello.

Now, Governor Ododo cuts the image of a listening governor. He has just expended one year out of his four-year mandate. It is not too late to repent from the misleading political highway created by Bello. He must skip to the path of equity and balance in political appointments and distribution of development projects across the three senatorial districts.

A glance at the distribution of some political positions in Kogi State. The full list cannot be displayed here.