Yahaya Bello, the embattled former governor of Kogi State, has stirred up social media with his school children’s invoice payment after allegations that he withdrew a large sum of money from the state’s coffers.
Bello paid $845,000 in school fees in advance for his children at the American International School of Abuja.
Recall that the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, claimed on Tuesday that an investigation by the anti-graft agency revealed that Bello is culpable.
Following a failed attempt to arrest him in his Abuja residence last week on Wednesday and the ex-governor’s absence from the Federal High Court, where he was scheduled to be arraigned last Thursday, the EFCC declared him wanted.
Bello insists that the EFCC’s attempt to arrest and prosecute him for an alleged N80.2bn fraud was in violation of a February 6 order of the Federal High Court in Lokoja restraining the anti-graft agency, and he has been on the run.
Reacting to this trending issue. Kayode Ogundamisi, a social media commentator, noted, “Yahaya Bello is not guilty of desiring a guaranteed quality education for his children; that is what every responsible parent should aspire to do. His crime is unlawfully using Kogi State funds and thus killing the future of the children of the poor and weak in Kogi State.
“The American International School in Abuja unwittingly enabled corruption; you have a politically exposed person post paying for 5 children and an unadmitted child and choose to accept close to a million dollars in advance? @officialEFCC did a brilliant job here.”
“Yahaya Bello doesn’t deserve peace. He literally paid for his children’s school fees until 2034 from the States’ coffers. They should conduct further investigation; that’s the least of his crimes,” Ridwan Oke commented.
Deborah Toluwase noted, “There was a time when civil servants were being paid as low as N6,000. I remember when friends and relatives back home who were senior civil servants would reach out to my mum for help because Bello wouldn’t pay salaries, and when he did, he would be paying N6k–N10k. People suffered.”
A member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Akin Akinwale, noted, “It seems the EFCC has launched a full media trial on White Lion. Initially, a video clip showed the chairman threatening to resign if Yahaya Bello escaped prosecution. Today is evidence of the school fee payment. Yahaya Bello is such a smart man; he made the road to his village so bad that EFCC cannot drive to go and pick him there.”
@I_am_Ilemona stated, “We’re only hearing about Yahaya Bello’s corruption because he’s fallen out with the powers that be in APC. For years, we shouted that he was looting the state blind, and they sent their vuvuzelas to cuss us out. Now those very same vuvuzelas are acting brand new.
@SodiqTade queried, “What did Kogi people do to Yahaya Bello to deserve this level of looting? Sigh!
