…says good women shaped his good public and private conduct.
Governor Yahaya Bello has affirmed that his public and private good conduct were largely shaped by the good women who surrounded him both in his early life, as an adult and a family man.
The governor who was emotional noted that his mother and late matriarch of his home Hajiya Hauwa’u Bello, From birth up till March 15, 2020 dedicated her life to raising him and his elder siblings after her husband and their father, Alhaji Bello Ipemida Ochi died relatively early.
The Governor made this known on Saturday at the event of the conferment as a Goodwill Ambassador of Nigerian Women on him by the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) and an award presentation as the most gender sensitive Governor in Nigeria.
He added that In similar manner, the women of his family have been a compass for me, he stated “The matriarch of my home, Hajia Amina Bello, the first lady of Kogi State, Her Excellency, Hajiya Rashidat Bello and my other wives, all of them equally beloved, my dear daughters and my sisters are all in the forefront of shaping my private and public conduct”
Governor Bello alluded to the truth that women are powerful, and from experience he expressed that “happy is the man who finds himself under the influence of good women at every season of his life” noting that he has been fortunate to be one of such men and took pride in describing himself as a product of the combined love, strength and sacrifice of many wonderful women.
He said “The first lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Hajiya Aisha Buhari is one of my accountability figures as a Governor and a politician. I never want her to hear anything about me or the administration I oversee which is inconsistent with good governance and humanity”
He noted that by the honour bestowed on him by the women council, necessity was now firmly laid on him to walk worthy of the distinctive ideals for which the NCWS was known by ensuring to engage in activities that excite the women adding also that he was duty bound to respect, protect and to fight for the advancement of their interests.
Governor Bello asserted that nothing was by chance as it was a general knowledge his deliberate effort in empowering women with sensitive and strategic positioning within the governance structure of Kogi State, stating that one major reason he has surrounded himself with women of substance in and out of government was because the women themselves have a tendency to perform when given the opportunity and they have never fall short.
He stressed that Kogi State was microcosmic of Nigeria and have all the diversities of tongue and faith along with all the age-old African problems associated with patriarchy and paternalism facing every other part of the country but Yet, right from the moment he took his oath of office from his first term in 2016, he made a determination to be a unifier, a bridge-builder and advocate of gender equity, elimination of gender-based violence, issues of maternal and newborn health, as well as the rights of the girl child.
The Governor noted that in view of his administration’s consideration of women for appointive and elective position such message could be boldly communicated to the rest of the world that the New Direction Administration of Governor Yahaya Bello in Kogi State has far exceeded the 35% affirmative action for women.
He added that Kogi State was one of only 4 states invited to the 72nd UN General Assembly in 2017 as identified success stories in the SDGs, boasting that the State was globally recognised and would continue to be recognised as a pacesetter in gender inclusiveness.