Governor Yahaya Bello’s Cabinet: A Perfect Indication of His Excellency’s Ability to Make Good Choices – A case study of the offices of the CoS and CPS to the Governor

Kogi State before now was labeled a shadow state not worthy of mention when reciting the country’s states and capitals. Even pupils in Nursery/Primary Schools makes mockery of Kogi and would pronounce the name with an emphatic stress accompanied with high intonation during recitations. I had this experience as a Youth Corp Member serving in Anambra State in 2015, when I had to constantly defend my dear State from mockery and ridiculing; as the state was being referred to as a northern state (many do not know what North Central is), and the most poorest in the country. I could remember the Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, was once alleged to once said that we only have 35 states in the country, as Kogi was not fit to be mentioned as a state. It was that sad!

The above was a summary of the nomenclature Kogi carried before the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello came on board in 2016. Kogi State before this time had some positions that were not that pronounced or should I say dormant; as the previous occupants are either incapable, or money driven.

To start with, two key persons were appointed in 2016 whom opened up Yahaya Bello’s administration and skyrockets him as one of the best Governors in the country. The office of the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor, and the office of the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor received life for the first time in sixteen years. Chief Edward David Onoja and Mrs Petra Akinti Onyegbule were appointed as CoS and CPS respectively, and the rest is history.

Chief Onoja redefined and repositioned the CoS office in Kogi State in a span of a year, and Governor Yahaya Bello’s name spreads like wide fire. This can be credited to Mrs Petra and Chief Onoja for doing a great job worthy of commendations in terms of branding and information.

Coming down to 2017, Chief Onoja became so active that one would think he was the Deputy Governor and not just the CoS to the Governor. Many even began to ask if Kogi had a deputy Governor or not, and I could remember also asking same question time after time and only got to know Simeon Achuba as the Deputy Governor when he began dragging the state government on different law suits. Chief Edward’s activeness covered up Achuba’s redundancy for years and made it difficult to deduce whom the Deputy Governor truly was.

The office of the Chief of Staff began controlling so much power synonymous to that of a Governor. His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, could go to sleep without having to worry about His CoS performing up to standard or not. The people of the state then, began having confidence in the office of the CoS and relevancy was restored to the office after decade plus that the state has been in existence. We can attribute this achievements to Edward Onoja.

Secondly; in Kogi State before 2016, office of the CPS wasn’t as pronounced as it is presently, not because the office wasn’t in existence but because it lacks relevance and contributing lesser than expected to the administration. This drastically changed upon the appointment of Petra Akinti Onyegbule as CPS. She was able to open up the office and redesigned it into what a modern CPS duties should be like. Information started flowing, the government became more accessible, and many got to know about the office for the first time because of the exposure and innovations introduced by Petra, who was a workaholic and a dedicated servant of the people.

Following the resignation of Edward Onoja in 2019 to take over from the embattled former Deputy Governor, Simeon Achuba, Pharmacist Jamiu Abdulkareem Asuku was then sworn in as the CoS to replace Edward Onoja. Let us not forget that Asuku previously served as the DG Protocol to the Governor for almost four years. So he was not a newbie to the administration.

Knowing fully well that he was stepping into a big shoe; as the potentials embedded in the office of the CoS has been well utilized by Edward Onoja, Asuku began building on the already well structured nomenclature established by his predecessor and ensure that the office functions in even better capacity compared to how it has been in the past.

As the youngest Chief of Staff to a seating Governor, who was appointed at age 35 as CoS, Asuku has been able to perform far beyond expectations and remodified stewardship in an enviable way. Restoration of decorum and calmness amongst party loyalist, peaceful coexistence of rival political parties in the state, quality representative and strategic rebranding of His Excellency’s image, and wide acceptability of the brand ‘GYB’ amongst the numerous achievements of Asuku as CoS in just two years plus in office, and gradually surpassing the achievements of his predecessor’s effortlessly.

Before proceeding, permit me to refresh your memories that Petra Akinti Onyegbule also resigned as CPS, and Onogwu Muhammed took over from her. It is funny how two good heads during the first administration ended up resigning, only that one ended up in a higher office and the other doing fantastically well in business.

Mr. Onogwu Muhammed, a science student not familiar with the works of art, received the baton of the CPS from Mrs Petra Akinti Onyegbule (a hyperactive show-maker). Mr. Mohammed or Galacticus as fondly called by friends and associates built on the achievements of Petra in surprising ways; as one can now boldly says that Kogi State’s CPS office is the most active in North Central and one of the most active in the country. This he was able to achieve by working closely with the State’s Commissioner for Information, Pastor Kingsley Fanwo (another good head in Yahaya Bello’s Cabinet), who is doing exceedingly well at all levels of duties.

Office of the CoS and CPS to the Governor has done extremely well in past years since the All Progressive Congress (APC) took over leadership of the state in 2016. You all can then agree with me that His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, as a leader have a good choice of selection when it comes to choosing the good heads to serve in public offices.

We are all aware of how difficult it is for some state governor’s to constitute their cabinet. And even when they do, it is mostly shabby and not worth it; as most of them ended up as goofy.

From 2016 till date, Kogi has been repositioned on the countries map; changed image, improved infrastructures, robust internally generated revenue, improved health services, quality education, and purpose driven system of governance. Governor Yahaya Bello has done extremely well in all these areas, especially during this second tenure.

I must give it to His Excellency and his team, for transforming what used to be a shadow state into a state with one of the most fastest growing cities in the world. Most of us living in the diaspora can now boldly introduce ourselves as ‘kogites.’

Kindly note that this article is not to undermine the performances of other appointees; as most of them are doing exceedingly well and making the state proud. Also, If you are not in agreement with my analysis, mention the previous CoS and CPS to the former Governors of Kogi State under the comment section.

Kelvin Oluseyi Eleta,
Abuja, Nigeria.

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