2027: As Yahaya Bello Sets Sights on Kogi Central Senate Seat

Donatus Eleko

with preparations in top gear for primary elections in line with the revised timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), quite a number of outgoing and former governors are warming up to contest the Senate seats in their senatorial districts.

There have been particular conversations around the declaration of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in December 2025, following the reported calls on him by his constituents to vie for the seat.

Considering the apparent influence the former governor has among his people, despite the once heated face-off between him and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged money laundering, many analysts opined that his kind of enduring politics needs be studied.

Some Kogi State indigenes described Bello as a towering political figure whose achievements in politics and governance paved the way for his continued relevance and influence in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Stakeholders in Kogi Central said the former governor’s legacies across the state were indelible, adding that their overwhelming support for him, ahead of the next National Assembly elections, was borne out of this.

Many of them thanked President Bola Tinubu for Bello’s appointment as a member of the Finance Committee for the 2026 National Convention of the APC.

That, according to them, signals the former governor’s continued relevance within the ruling party’s structure as preparations intensify ahead of the major political gathering and forthcoming elections.

Hon. Muhammed Kabir, a stakeholder in Kogi Central,  said the former governor’s senatorial ambition was a “done-deal”, noting that even other senatorial districts in the state could attest to the giant strides of his administration.

According to him, the former governor’s running battle with the EFCC could not diminish the people’s love for him because they see it as political.

Kabir said, “Yahaya Bello’s popularity cannot be taken away despite the fact that some people he outsmarted politically want to deliberately paint him black. That the EFCC is in court with him does not matter. Let them slug it out there.

“Before he became a governor, he was doing very well for himself and his community, Ebiraland as a whole and Kogi State at large. I have know him for the past 20 years. He is a very nice man that carries the people along.

“He is someone who has built many young people around him and in the state. He doesn’t discriminate. If you come to him, he will listen to you and assist you. He is the kind of person who will not say that you are from Okun, Igala or Ebira before attending to you. He treats everybody equally.”

Abdulmajeed Adam, another Ebira indigene, who resides in Abuja but votes in Ajaokuta, said even after leaving office, people still thronged former Bello’s house. 

He stated, “Despite the fact that this is Ramadan period, his house is usually filled with people everyday. Those around him say he sleeps between 1am and 4am because he attends to visitors all through the day and well into the night.

“If he was a bad person, people would not come around him again. Just look at the projects he did when he was in power across the three senatorial districts, they are massive and people love him for that and that is why they asked him to go to Senate. He is detribalised. He is an Ebira man but his driver for years has been an Igala man.”

Adam noted that the people of Kogi Central realised the impact of his interventions in the state and decided to call on him to serve through the Senate.

“In terms of his achievements in education, I can say they are unprecedented. He recruited 3,000 teachers and improved teaching quality in schools. He built so many schools and renovated others.

“Before Alhaji Yahaya Bello came to power, there were many out-of-school children in Kogi. But today, through Yahaya Bello’s intervention, education is free. In terms of security, I can say he was the best governor.

“We have Conference Rice Mill in Kogi today because of Yahaya Bello. He worked across the three senatorial districts.

“Yahaya Bello built and renovated hospitals to world standard. He has not been travelling abroad for medical treatment. I know his personal doctors. So, he is just a man of the people and we are ready to ensure that he represents us in the Senate come 2027,” he said.

The Chief Scientific Officer at National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr Musa Bashir Adavuruku, described Bello as a detrabilised politician whose achievements speak volume.

“Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a man of the people, irrespective of where you come from; whether Christian, Muslim. He treats everybody equally. He is the kind of person I can give Grade A, especially with respect to his relationship with people and achievements when he was in office.

“What the people of Kogi enjoyed during his time was enormous and this is the reason why they want him to do more for them through the Legislative Arm of Government,” the don said.

The Country Head, Young Women of Africa, Ms. Idris Asmawu Omeiza, also shared her views about the achievements of Bello, which has made his influence in the state continue to grow.

She said he was the only former governor that brought Kogi to national limelight positively.

“If there is anything Kogi State ever had, it was having that person called Alhaji Adoza Yahaya Bello because Kogi politics and governance came to the limelight through him,” she said.

“Those days, before the coming of Yahaya Bello, we thought politics was for the old people. But, since his emergence as governor, we now know that politics could also be for young Nigerians,” she added.

On Bello’s towering political relevance, Omeiza stated, “The Kogi State we had 20 years ago is not the Kogi State of now. While anybody can walk around peacefully in Kogi State now is because of the security template established by Yahaya Bello.

“Yahaya Bello is needed in APC because of his capacity and his ingenuity. It is so clear that the issue he has with the EFCC is political. Even the President knows that Alhaji Yahaya Bello is someone who cannot easily compromise.

“Don’t also forget that he is one of the top five young, agile, strategic, accessible and useful personalities APC has presently,” she noted.

Another key leader in the district, Nuhu Philip, noted that it was not surprising that  Bello made the list of the National Convention Committee of the APC.

“Beyond the noise around his face-off with the EFCC, Bello is a political force and a towering figure at that, not only in APC, but in the nation’s politics.

“This only goes to revalidate and reassert Bello’s growing influence within the APC and alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s political direction. This is a man who traversed the length and breath of this country mobilising support for the eventual victory of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as President of Nigeria,” he said.

Other key pundits described Bello as “a political war general” who currently enjoys Kogi people’s support and love.

“Even though he is no longer in power in Kogi State, his people admire and support him. No political party that is serious about winning elections can discard such a person. When it comes to election strategies, leave it for Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

“As a performer in office, he commands a solid structure that has been built through years of executive control, party dominance, and strategic patronage.

“Bello’s political machinery remains formidable, deep-rooted and battle-tested-ready to retain influence and reassert supremacy in Kogi Central come 2027. I call him a political war general,” Paul Edime, a political scientist submitted.

Strong voices in the political circle of Kogi State revealed that Bello holds immense influence and commands great respect in the national APC fold because he is an asset to the party.

A leader in the Peoples Democratic Party in Kogi Central who did not want to be mentioned for personal reasons, described the senatorial hopeful as a “master strategist and election planner.”

“Even though I am not in the same political party with him, I know that Alhaji Yahaya Bello was at the forefront of the Renewed Hope in 2023 and contributed immensely to the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

So, Alhaji Bello’s acumen and sagacity will continue to make him relevant, influential and productive in Nigeria’s democratic processes,” he said.

On Bello’s aspiration to contest Kogi Central Senatorial election, the politician simply noted, “It is a done-deal. His people love him. In fact, they appealed to him to come and rescue them because they believe in him and his achievements speak for him. That Alhaji Yahaya Bello will campaign is to just fulfill all righteousness and obey the dictates of the traditional electoral activities.

“He will make a great and positive difference to the fortunes of Kogi Central and Nigeria at large once he gets to the Senate.”

A University lecturer in the state, who simply identified himself as Suleiman, said, “For me, Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a key player in the Nigerian project. He is passionate about seeing Nigeria grow and he has displayed this attribute in his interventions in Kogi State.

“He is the architect of modern Kogi State even with the little resources that came to the state as at then. I am sure these sterling qualities are what his party and people see in him for the acceptability he is enjoying.”

Another indigene, Clement Udah, commended the former governor for “making Kogi State proud,” saying his political moves had made national leaders to reckon with the state.

Udah described Bello as a disciplined political leader with an enduring political architecture. He said since the senatorial aspirant delved into politics many years ago, he had shaped governance and refined Kogi politics.

“It is just sad that some people have turned politics into a tool for blackmail and needless persecution. Let us assume that Alhaji Yahaya Bello was not a man whose trajectory depicts rare discipline, hardwork and selfless services to the people, he would have been long forgotten.

“So, that he is towering higher, daily, in the politics of the nation goes to prove that there is reward for mobility and integrity.”