Yahaya Bello gifts Kogi student N30m for aviation training
Enejoh Faith briefing former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello about her aviation training in his residence in Abuja on Monday. Photo: Onogwu Muhammed
The family of an aviation student, Enejoh Faith, has commended former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello after his N30m intervention enabled her to complete her aviation training and move closer to fulfilling her childhood ambition of becoming a pilot.
Faith and her family visited the former governor on Monday night to express gratitude for his intervention, which enabled her to complete her training after financial difficulties threatened her ambition.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Bello’s spokesperson, Onogwu Muhammed, the former governor first met Faith and her father on July 17, 2025, when they visited his residence to seek financial assistance.
Faith, who was dressed in an aviation uniform at the time, had secured admission for aviation training but could not raise the funds required to complete her registration and continue the programme.
Her father presented the admission letter and other relevant documents to Bello and explained the financial challenges confronting the family.
Bello subsequently decided to take responsibility for her aviation training.
The statement partly read, “The cost of the programme was about N30m and the former governor provided more than the amount initially requested because he anticipated that Faith could encounter other financial challenges during her studies.
“The intervention was not made public at the time, as no press conference or media event was organised around the support.”
Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello & Enejoh Faith in Bello’s residence in Abuja on Monday. Photo: Onogwu Muhammed
During Monday’s visit, Faith and her family gave Bello an update on her progress and thanked him for enabling her to pursue her childhood ambition.
Her father said Faith scored 89 per cent out of 100 in her public pilot licence examination and had completed her training in preparation for the next stage of her aviation career. Foundation empowers 150 students in Delta ADC chieftain urges INEC to ensure fairness in Kogi ward creation Your installation call to greater service, Tinubu congratulates ex-First Bank CEO
According to him, Bello did not know either him or his daughter before their encounter.
He said, “And Oga did not know me before. He didn’t know my daughter.”
Expressing gratitude to the former governor, Faith’s father said Bello had become a highly valued member of their family.
He said, “God will bless you, sir. I have nothing to reciprocate. In this family, after God, you are the next person to us. Our family will continue to remember you. Even at death, our spirit will continue to appreciate you.”
He also recalled the anxiety he experienced before the family received Bello’s intervention.
“Before we came to your place, my Blood Pressure rose to 180. When we left, and I checked the next day, it came back to 130. If I had died that very day, I would have still died a happy and fulfilled man on earth,” he said.
Muhammed said the support formed part of Bello’s private scholarship initiatives, through which beneficiaries have received assistance for education and professional training.
According to him, at least four people have been trained as pilots through Bello’s private scholarship scheme, while others have received assistance to study at universities within and outside Nigeria.
The family’s visit, he added, was not to seek further assistance but to thank the former governor and share the outcome of his intervention.
Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis
The PUNCH journalist, Adebayo, has over 20 years of experience covering politics, health, metro, entertainment and properties
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