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Between Ogun Government And Political Pensioners
Between Ogun Government And Political Pensioners
IT’s a no-brainer that most working people eagerly await their retirement. They realize that they will leave their present office one day and begin to live a quieter life as senior citizens, enjoying the fruits of their long years of labour. In reality, retired workers are hardly idle; more often than not, they will find something doing.
Sadly, though, conflicts between state governments and pensioners are routine in this clime, caused in large part by the failure to pay the admittedly paltry pensions. In the case of Ogun State, there had naturally been conflicts between pensioners and the state government long before the advent of the present administration led by Prince Dapo Abiodun. Since the return to civil rule, governments had left outstanding pension bills, and the immediate past administration in the state was no exception.
However, since 2019 when he assumed office as the fifth democratically elected governor of Ogun State, Prince Abiodun, himself the son a government worker with a distinguished record of service, has sought to ensure that pensioners get the entitlements due to them so they can more easily navigate the challenges of daily existence.
In clearing the backlog of unpaid pensions when he assumed office, Governor Abiodun made a promise to release a specific sum every quarter to offset the arrears, and to this promise he has apparently kept fidelity. Statistics indicate that within the last three and a half years, he has paid the total sum of N78bn as arrears of gratuity and pensions to workers in the state. But, focused on his job though he may be, there will always be those who question his commitment and patriotism, including political pensioners whose stock in trade is rabble-rousing. Such “pensioners” are always at war with state governors and if you do not look closely enough, you would think that they are patriots fighting for the dignity of senior citizens. Hired pensioners are always available for political purposes, and in Ogun their method is to cast aspersions on the governor, claiming that he is the son of a teacher who does not pay teachers.
Indeed, nothing but crass politicking can explain the blatantly false statement credited to the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Ogun State this week that since 2019, Governor Abiodun had only paid N3bn as arrears of pension and gratuity.
He was reacting to the governor’s verifiable statement during the town hall meeting on the 2023- 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and 2023 Budget for Ogun East Senatorial District held in Ijebu-Ode. A breakdown of the state’s monthly pension and gratuity payment shows that in the month of June 2019 alone, the state government paid the sum of N841,238,430.74 as state pension and N 790,588,053.50 as local government pension. In the same month, it paid the sum of N25,566,526.1 as state gratuity. That amounts to N1, 657, 393,010.41. For the month of July 2019, it paid N1,641,771,655.36. Thus, for the months of June 2019 and July 2019 alone, the Abiodun government paid N3,299,164,665.77. The fact is that between June 2019 and September 2022, the government paid a grand total of N78,567,913,997.48, which easily confirms Governor Abiodun’s statement that his administration had paid “over N70bn” as pensions and gratuities since assuming office. Surely, N78bn is “over N70bn.”
The NUP boss, who berated the increase in the quarterly payment of outstanding gratuities from N500m to N600m, should come clean and show anywhere in the world where years of outstanding arrears are paid in one fell swoop. Surely, the Abiodun administration has, despite the financial challenges facing the state, continued to give top priority to the welfare of senior citizens by ensuring the quarterly payment of gratuities and pensions. It is time we stopped playing politics with the lives of people in this country. Pensioners deserve their pay but a government fulfilling its pension obligations does not deserve to be maligned. If it is not appreciated for its noble efforts, at least it should not be castigated. It should be left alone by those who cannot appreciate anything good because it would upend their political positions, make their case untenable and render them completely redundant.
The political game being played by the so-called pensioners is not easy to disguise, yet one hastens to advice that elders should not allow themselves to be pawns in political game. Politicians who have lost out in the scheme of things within the Ogun APC would naturally clutch at straws, desperate to keep themselves relevant by any means. Pretending to be of the Ogun APC fold, they have announced their avowed mission to bring down the Abiodun government, speaking as if the future lies in their hands.
The politicians behind the pension politics played this week have done their level best to undermine Governor Abiodun and his administration in the last three and a half years and have failed spectacularly. They dropped the president’s name, saying they would deny him a second term ticket, and failed. They resuscitated allegations of lack of certificates already laid to rest at Nigeria’s apex court and failed. They claimed the party was going to stop him from running for a second term of office and wrote countless petitions against him, but it was all an exercise in futility. Instead of being sent packing, the man has become a rising star in the party. They cower with fright when he wins numerous awards, including the back-to-back honours in agriculture and the recent one on industrial revolution, knowing that discerning Nigerians have seen through their falsehood.
Happily, regardless of the mud thrown at him, Governor Abiodun has shown that he is sharply focused on his “Building Our Future Together” agenda.
And the people are behind him.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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