The winner of the 2023 gubernatorial election in Kogi State, Usman Ododo, has been sworn in as the governor of the state.

This comes barely three months after he was elected to take over from Yahaya Bello, who has completed his second term in office.

Naija News learned that Ododo took the oath of office at around 2:24 pm in Lokoja, the state capital, on Saturday.

His inauguration came just minutes after Salifu Joel Oyibot took his oath of office as the deputy governor of Kogi State.

With his swearing-in, Ododo has become the 5th executive governor of Kogi state.

The event had in attendance the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, Ododo’s predecessor, Yahaya Bello, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje and other top members of the party.

Meanwhile, Yahaya Bello has rated his administration with good marks, stating that he would be departing office and leaving the state in better shape than when he arrived.

Recall that Governor Bello, whose second term in office will elapse in a few weeks, gave this remark while accepting the Fellowships Award at the 4th Combined Convocation of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, during the weekend.

At the State Polytechnic of Lokoja’s joint convocation for 2013/2014–2022–2023, the governor, who was a distinguished guest, remarked that one of his accomplishments is the State Polytechnic’s repositioning to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.