STOP EMBARRASSING KOGI STATE — MEKSTA WARNS YAHAYA BELLO

The Movement for the Emancipation of Kogi State (MEKSTA) has issued a stern warning to the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, urging him to desist from embarrassing the state in the eyes of the world.

In a statement released in Lokoja, the state capital, on Monday, MEKSTA reacted to Bello’s widely circulated congratulatory message to the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Waidi Shaibu, an indigene of Kogi State.

The controversial letter, which bore the official insignia of the Office of the Governor of Kogi State—complete with Nigeria’s Coat of Arms and Bello’s silhouette placed side by side—sparked public outrage and condemnation, eventually forcing the former governor to delete it from the internet.

According to MEKSTA:

“The world woke up on Sunday, October 26, 2025, to see a viral congratulatory letter authored by former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State. While Bello reserves the right to express himself publicly, we were shocked and embarrassed to see him still parading himself as a sitting governor, using official state stationery and seal. We find this illegality and presumptuousness utterly irresponsible, disrespectful, and unconscionable.”

The group further accused Bello of “unbridled ignorance and crass indiscipline unbecoming of a former public officer,” describing his actions as reflective of his failure to grasp basic civil service rules during his eight-year tenure.

“This is not unexpected from a man who practically crippled the Kogi State Civil Service—delaying or denying salaries, allowances, promotions, training, and pensions. Under Bello, the civil service was rendered powerless and irrelevant,” the statement added.

MEKSTA lamented that Bello’s conduct disgraces a state known for producing respected bureaucrats and technocrats such as Chief S.B. Awoniyi, Chief S.B. Daniyan, Asiwaju Sola Akanmode, Alhaji Abdrahman Okene, Ambassador Judith Attah, Prince Ataba Sani-Omolori, Professor Francis Idachaba, Senator Alex Kadiri, and Chief Robert Audu.

“How many former governors in Nigeria are still clutching to government documents and properties? What did Yahaya Bello learn in eight years of administration that he now displays such managerial illiteracy?” the group queried.

MEKSTA also wondered why Bello took it upon himself to congratulate the new COAS rather than allowing the incumbent governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, to do so officially. It questioned why Bello failed to issue similar congratulatory messages to other Kogi indigenes appointed by President Bola Tinubu into various positions.

The organization advised Bello against imagining that Major General Waidi Shaibu would tolerate the kind of “electoral brigandage and violence” that allegedly characterized his administration.

Representing all 236 wards, 21 local government areas, nine federal constituencies, and three senatorial districts of Kogi State, MEKSTA admonished Bello to “get a life” after leaving office and stop “acting like a rent collector still feeding off state resources.”

“When last did anyone hear of former Governor Donald Duke loitering around Government House, Calabar? Since leaving office, he has built a successful private career respected by his people. Former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani also remains relevant through legitimate political engagement. That’s how to command respect,” the statement concluded.

SIGNED: