EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION: How Dapo Abiodun Abandoned Ijebu's World-Class Stadiums, Routed Gateway Games Billions to Private Interests

FOI Request Filed. Costs Remain Secret. Ijebu Communities Left Holding Empty Arenas.

*By Adewale Ajibosin 

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When the Ogun State Government announced the hosting of the 22nd Gateway Games, sports enthusiasts across the state expected the obvious: that the Dipo Dina International Stadium in Ijebu-Ode, one of the most impressive sports facilities in Southwest Nigeria, would anchor the competition as a flagship venue. It did not. Neither did the Sagamu Stadium, another international-standard facility sitting fully equipped within the state's territory.

Instead, Governor Dapo Abiodun's administration quietly entered into what sources describe as a "management deal" with private sporting centres and at least one higher institution, channelling thousands of athletes, officials, and support personnel through non-government facilities, at costs that remain, to this day, deliberately hidden from the public.

The questions that follow are not merely administrative. They cut to the heart of governance, ethnic equity, fiscal transparency, and the calculated marginalisation of a people whose infrastructure investment was built precisely for moments like this.

The facts on ground are difficult to dispute. Ijebu-Ode hosts the Dipo Dina International Stadium, a facility constructed and upgraded to international specification. It has the seating capacity, the track and field infrastructure, the floodlighting, and the ancillary support systems expected of a modern multi-sport venue.

Within proximity sits a Games Village comparable in concept and structure to the celebrated Afuze Camp in Edo State, a facility that has successfully housed large contingents of athletes and officials during inter-state competitions. A functional NYSC orientation camp, equipped with residential blocks, kitchens, recreational spaces, and security perimeters, sits nearby, ready-made for the accommodation demands of a state-level sporting festival.

Sagamu contributes an additional layer: its own stadium, also meeting international standards, strategically located along one of Nigeria's busiest transport corridors, with unmatched accessibility for delegations arriving from Lagos, Ibadan, and beyond.

The state possessed, in the Ijebu corridor alone, a self-contained sporting complex capable of hosting the Gateway Games from opening ceremony to medal presentation. Infrastructure. Accommodation. Logistics. All present. All idle.

Governor Dapo Abiodun chose none of it.

What the Abiodun administration chose instead is where the story darkens considerably. Government sources confirm that a "management deal" was executed with private operators, routing the hosting infrastructure of the 22nd Gateway Games away from state-owned public facilities toward privately controlled venues and the premises of a higher institution.

The total cost of this arrangement remains unknown to the public.

A civil society organisation, acting under the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, formally filed a request demanding a full breakdown of public expenditure related to the 22nd Gateway Games, covering venue hire, accommodation, logistics, feeding, security, and all ancillary costs tied to the management deal.

That request has not been meaningfully honoured.

No itemised budget has been released. No contract documents have been published. No procurement records have been made available. The

government that prides itself on transparency has met a basic constitutional FOI demand with institutional silence.

This is not bureaucratic delay. It is a deliberate suppression of public accountability information tied to what independent analysts estimate could run into hundreds of millions of naira in public funds.

The question that demands an answer: if the deal was legitimate, lawful, and value-for-money, why the secrecy?

Before interrogating Abiodun's conduct further, the public record demands that an established standard of excellence be placed on the table for direct comparison.

In 2006, the Ogun State Government under the leadership of Otunba Gbenga Daniel hosted an edition of the Gateway Games that remains, by every measurable index, the gold standard for games management in the state's history. The numbers are not disputed: the government realised N792 million in revenue from the Games and expended N702 million, leaving a surplus of N90 million. The Gateway Games turned a profit. Public money was not only accounted for to the naira; it generated a return.

But the financial record is only part of the story. Under Otunba Daniel's administration, Ogun State did something no host state had ever done in the entire history of the Gateway Games: it accommodated and fed every competing athlete from all states of the federation, entirely at the state government's expense. From Rivers to Sokoto, from Borno to Lagos, every delegation was housed, catered for, and treated as a guest of Ogun State. It was a logistical undertaking of historic proportions, executed without fanfare and without excuses.

That unprecedented act of sporting hospitality was not accidental. It reflected a deliberate philosophy of governance: that public events funded by public resources must deliver public value, measurable, transparent, and inclusive.

Nineteen years later, under Dapo Abiodun, the outgoing governor of Ogun State, he cannot produce a single document showing what the 22nd Gateway Games cost, who was paid, or on what basis public-owned stadiums were bypassed in favour of privately held facilities. The contrast is not subtle. It is a complete institutional collapse of the standard that Otunba Daniel set.

If the Daniel administration could host a Games that fed every athlete in Nigeria, generated a N90 million profit, and accounted for every kobo, there is no administrative, technical, or financial justification for the Abiodun administration's refusal to disclose basic expenditure data for its own edition. None. The precedent exists. The benchmark is documented. The excuse of complexity does not hold.

To understand why the deliberate exclusion of Ijebu-Ode and its facilities carries weight beyond administrative preference, one must situate this decision within a visible pattern of conduct under the Abiodun administration.

The Ijebu people, one of the most historically organised and commercially active sub-groups in Yorubaland, have watched with growing frustration as a governor who owes the entirety of his political fortunes to the Ogun State political structure has consistently failed to reflect Ijebu interests in state policy, appointments, and infrastructure prioritisation.

Gateway Stadium in ruins

The Gateway Games was not merely a sporting event. For communities in Ijebu-Ode and its environs, it represented a rare and legitimate opportunity for economic activation. Hosting thousands of athletes and officials translates directly into hotel bookings, food vendor revenues, transportation income, retail trade, and the broader hospitality economy. These are real earnings for market women, bus operators, provision sellers, sachet water producers, and the informal economy workers who constitute the backbone of Ijebu commercial life.

Dapo Abiodun took that opportunity and handed it elsewhere.

By routing the Games away from the Dipo Dina Stadium and the Ijebu Games Village, his administration denied Ijebu-Ode the economic multiplier effect that sporting festivals of this scale are specifically designed to generate for host communities. It is, in the assessment of civil society observers tracking the administration, a deliberate act of economic exclusion dressed in the language of administrative discretion.

The 2006 edition demonstrated that hosting the Games creates measurable economic circulation within the host community. Abiodun did not merely fail to replicate that model. He inverted it, stripping Ijebu communities of the economic dividend that public infrastructure, built with their taxes, was meant to deliver.

The investigative record as it stands generates the following specific, unanswered questions for the Abiodun administration:

**On Infrastructure:** What technical assessment, if any, was conducted to determine that the Dipo Dina International Stadium, the Sagamu Stadium, the Ijebu Games Village, and the adjacent NYSC Camp were unfit or insufficient to host the 22nd Gateway Games? Were any such reports produced? If so, they must be published.

**On Procurement:** Through what process was the "management deal" with private sporting centres and the higher institution awarded? Was it open tender, restricted bid, or sole sourcing? Who are the beneficial owners of the private entities that received public funds?

**On Cost:** What is the total sum of public money expended on the 22nd Gateway Games? What portion went to private operators? How does this compare to the documented N702 million expenditure of the 2006 edition, which generated a N90 million surplus? How does it compare to the cost of utilising the state's own facilities?

**On the FOI Request:** Under what legal justification has the government failed to honour a duly filed Freedom of Information request? The FOI Act is not optional. Non-compliance is a justiciable matter.

**On Equity:** Does the Abiodun administration maintain any internal policy framework for geographic equity in the distribution of state-sponsored economic activities? If so, how does the exclusion of Ijebu-Ode from the Gateway Games satisfy that framework?

**On the Historic Standard:** In 2006, Ogun State accommodated and fed every athlete from all 36 states, a first in the Games' history, and still returned a profit. What did the 22nd Gateway Games deliver by comparison, and at what cost to the Ogun State taxpayer?

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## The Verdict of Infrastructure

There is a particular cruelty embedded in what happened at Ijebu-Ode. Public funds, drawn from the collective resources of Ogun State, were used to build and maintain a world-class stadium in that city. A Games Village was constructed with the explicit purpose of supporting exactly the kind of large-scale sporting event the Gateway Games represents. Yet when the moment arrived, the man entrusted with governing the state looked at those facilities, looked at the Ijebu people who live and work in their shadow, and decided they were not worthy of the investment's return.

The Dipo Dina International Stadium did not fail the Gateway Games. The Gateway Games was kept away from Dipo Dina International Stadium.

That distinction is not semantic. It is political. It is deliberate. And it has a name.

The 2006 edition stands as permanent, documented proof that the Gateway Games can be hosted profitably, transparently, and with historic generosity, using state infrastructure, without secrecy, without private management deals, and without bypassing the communities that deserve the economic benefits most. Otunba Gbenga Daniel set that standard. Dapo Abiodun has not met it. He has not even attempted to.

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## Conclusion: Silence Is Not Governance

Governor Dapo Abiodun has 48 hours to respond to this publication with specific, documented answers to the questions raised above. His media office, his Sports Commissioner, and his Attorney General, whose office bears responsibility for FOI compliance, have been notified of this inquiry.

In the absence of credible, documented responses, this publication will proceed on the established record: that the 22nd Gateway Games was used as an instrument to direct public expenditure toward private and institutional interests; that world-class Ijebu infrastructure was deliberately sidelined; that the economic rights of Ijebu communities were deliberately denied; that a Freedom of Information request lawfully filed under Nigerian statute has been treated with contempt; and that a governor who inherited a documented standard of excellence in games management has chosen opacity over accountability, private gain over public benefit, and political exclusion over equitable governance.

The Ijebu people will not forget. Neither, on this occasion, will the public record.

UNAUTHORIZED DEBIT: UBA Tells Artisan to Wait 23 Working Days Before Reversing Strange Sportybet N200,000 Transaction

Clancy Owie, an artisan, has narrated how the United Bank for Africa (UBA), refused to refund over N200,000 to him after he was debited twice for a transaction he did not initiate.

When he contacted the bank, they told him to wait for 23 working days.

UNKNOWN TRANSFER

Speaking with FIJ on Monday, Owie said he received two N100,000 debit alerts of transfers to a Sportybet account on Thursday.

“My account was debited twice on Thursday. N100,000 each into Sportybet, which I know nothing about,” he said.

“I don’t have anything to do with Sportybet. I am not a gambler. So, I don’t know how the transaction with Sportybet came about. But the transaction was done with Sportybet.”

The debit alerts Owie received on Thursday.

The transfers totalled N200,107.

Owie also told FIJ that he had planned to use the deducted funds to buy materials for work. “This money is for work. I wanted to use it to buy materials,” he said.

UBA’S RESPONSE

After contacting UBA on Friday, the bank told him to wait for 23 working days. “The bank said I should wait for 23 working days. They said it was transferred through mobile transfer to a Sportybet account. That they are working on it. That was all they could say,” he said.

On Friday, FIJ phoned and texted UBA. They sent an automated reply in response. FIJ hasn’t received a follow-up response at press time.

Payroll While Abroad? Questions Trail Ogun Governor’s Aide Amid Canada Refugee Claim

Serious questions are emerging over payroll integrity and staff oversight in Ogun State following allegations that a media aide to Governor Dapo Abiodun may have relocated to Canada to pursue refugee protection while allegedly remaining on the state government’s payroll.

Multiple sources within the state civil service told this newspaper that Emmanuel Ojo, Senior Special Assistant on New Media, is still listed as active staff attached to the governor’s office, despite reports that he has been outside Nigeria for an extended period. Official records confirming resignation, approved leave, or disengagement could not be immediately established as of press time.

At the heart of the controversy is not migration itself, but a fundamental governance issue. Was a serving government aide physically absent from duty while continuing to receive public funds, and if so, who authorised it?

Public service regulations require formal clearance for extended absence, foreign relocation, or resignation. Failure to comply raises potential red flags ranging from administrative negligence to payroll abuse. Analysts note that if salary payments continued during an unapproved absence, the issue would extend beyond one individual to systemic weaknesses within the state’s personnel and payroll controls.

While refugee and asylum applications are protected by strict privacy laws, travel history, payroll records, and staff nominal rolls are verifiable public-interest documents. These records can establish whether the aide remained in active service, whether payments continued, and whether supervising authorities were aware of his whereabouts.

The Ogun State Government has not issued an official response to the allegations. Officials contacted said they were not formally briefed and declined comment.

As scrutiny intensifies, the case is fast becoming a test of transparency in an era when the “Japa” migration wave is colliding with weak institutional monitoring. The central question remains unanswered: how many public officials may be absent from duty, abroad, yet still quietly drawing salaries from state coffers?

14 Years of Luxury, Zero Planning Approval? Lagos Seals Illegal Estates, Names Adron Homes Amid Enforcement Blitz

While Adron Homes marks its 14th anniversary with fanfare — including an all-expenses-paid vacation to Qatar for 14 staff members — the Lagos State Government has moved decisively against estates operating outside the law, citing the developer among those that failed to regularise mandatory layout approvals.

The enforcement action, led by the Lagos State Government through its Office of Physical Planning, saw several structures sealed across the Lekki axis and Lagos Island for operating without approved layout plans and building permits.

The crackdown follows an earlier 2025 audit in which the government identified 176 illegal estate developments concentrated in Eti-Osa, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe. Developers were issued a 21-day ultimatum to regularise their approvals — a directive many, including prominent names, reportedly ignored.

According to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, the affected estates were declared illegal for failing to obtain statutory layout approvals, a lapse officials say undermines sustainable urban growth and violates the state’s T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda.

Among the estates previously listed for non-compliance were Adron Homes, Elerangbe; Aina Gold Estate, Okun-Folu; Diamond Estate, Eputu; Prime Water View Garden, Ikate Elegushi; and Royal View Estate, Ikota — developments that continued operations despite clear regulatory warnings.

Confirming the latest enforcement exercise, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, said the operation began on Wednesday and was led by the Director of Development Matters, Hakeem Animashaun. The sweep targeted estates in the Lekki corridor that had earlier been cautioned but failed to comply.

Although the commissioner did not disclose the total number of sealed buildings, he reaffirmed the government’s zero-tolerance stance on unauthorised developments, urging developers to secure layout approvals and building permits before commencing construction.

“The Office of Physical Planning is statutorily mandated to ensure that all developments comply with approved planning standards and regulations,” Olumide said. “We will continue to enforce compliance across the state. Developers must prioritise obtaining layout approvals and building permits to avoid sealing and other penalties.”

He added that the ongoing enforcement aligns with the state’s commitment to orderly urban development, infrastructure protection and sustainable growth, particularly in fast-expanding corridors such as Lekki-Ajah, warning that similar operations would be extended to other parts of Lagos.

Estates visited during the exercise included Adron Homes, Victoria Nest, Vistaview Estate, Empire Homes, JadeView Estate, BlessedView Homes and Micrian Villa Estate, among others, a clear signal that regulatory compliance, not anniversary celebrations or luxury incentives, remains the benchmark for operating in Lagos’ real estate space.

Political Rift Deepens in Abeokuta North as Councillors Allegedly Plan Showdown with Chairman

Fresh political tension is brewing in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State following allegations that some councillors, backed by leaders loyal to a governorship aspirant, are plotting to embarrass the council chairman, Hon. Lanre Oyegbola-Sodipo.

The chairman, who has been credited with notable development projects and effective policy execution, is reportedly being targeted over political loyalties and financial disagreements.

Sources disclosed that the planned action could take place within days, raising concerns about possible disruption of council activities.

A serving councillor, who requested anonymity, told our reporter that certain political leaders are unhappy with the chairman’s alignment with Governor Dapo Abiodun and his alleged refusal to support alternative political camps within the party.

The source also claimed that grievances over the non-payment of “Owo Odun” and dissatisfaction with financial allocations to councillors are fueling the unrest.

However, the same councillor acknowledged that the chairman currently provides monthly financial support and allows councillors to execute constituency projects — initiatives he said were uncommon in previous administrations.

He added that not all councillors are in support of the alleged plot, noting that many fear the consequences of legislative-executive conflict at the grassroots level.

Concerned stakeholders are urging top government and party officials to intervene swiftly to avoid a repeat of the crisis previously witnessed in Ota Local Government, where political disagreements led to the suspension and impeachment of the council chairman before state authorities restored order.

Court Fines UBA N30 million for Illegally Freezing Customer’s Account

The court has ordered the bank to immediately refund $163,592 withheld from the company, Micoz Bluelink Enterprise.

Mr Lifu held that the bank had no legal basis for freezing the business domiciliary account or transferring funds from the account without a court order or notifying the customer.

The judge described the act as “a breach of the banker-customer’s relationship”.

According to him, the UBA’s action was ultra vires its powers, reckless and bereft of mercy.

The certified true copy of the judgment, delivered on July 25, was made available to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja.

The plaintiff, Akpasi Oziegbe, trading under the name and style of Micoz Bluelink Enterprise, had, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1412/2023, sued UBA as the sole defendant.

The plaintiff’s legal team, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, and Adeyemo Richard, exyplained that the firm was incorporated on March 19, 2021, with a domiciliary account opened thereafter for trading operations.

On July 20, 2022, the company discovered that the account had been restricted by the bank with a balance of $163.8 million meant for supply contracts.

“The applicant made several enquiries to the bank seeking reasons for the account restriction, but the bank failed to respond or unfreeze the account,” Mr Ojukwu said.

Mr Richard, equally, contended in one of the sittings that the bank allegedly transferred the sum without the company’s authorisation on August 19, 2023.

The plaintiff, in the affidavit in support, averred that “there is no mention of fraud in the call-back request presented by the bank, and the document lacks proper endorsement and authenticity.”

In its defence, UBA, through its counsel, Kalat Jatau, admitted the inflow of $163.8 million but claimed the funds were flagged as suspicious.

The bank said it filed a suspicious transaction report with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and temporarily restricted the account pending enhanced customer due diligence.

The bank alleged that “the applicant was informed of the restriction and requested further documentation, which, upon review, was found to be inconsistent with actual transaction amounts”.

It further argued that the funds were recalled following a SWIFT instruction from its correspondent bank, Citi Bank.

Delivering the judgment, Mr Lifu held that UBA breached its fiduciary duty and acted without court approval.

“The bank failed to inform the applicant of reasons for the restriction and proceeded with unilateral withdrawal, thereby breaching the banker-customer contract,” he held.

On the validity of the bank’s evidence, the judge found UBA’s Exhibit ‘A’ defective.

“There is no mention of ‘fraud’ or ‘fraudulent’ in the document, which only states ‘Possible Duplicate’ and does not justify a call back,” he said.

The judge also recognised the significant economic loss and business disruption caused to the applicant following the over-one-year restriction.

According to Mr Lifu, there is no proof the bank took appropriate steps before restricting the account or withdrawing funds, nor did it disclose where the money was transferred.

The judge held that customer’s funds could only be withdrawn from their account “pursuant to an unequivocal instruction by the customer or a court order”, and that neither of which was presented.

He declared UBA’s actions “illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of banker-customer relationship”. The judge, therefore, cited the bank’s conduct, the applicant’s status and economic factors in awarding damages.

These, he said, included “the continual depreciation of the naira”.

Mr Lifu, thereafter, awarded ₦30 million in damages in favour of Micoz Bluelink Enterprise with “post-judgment interest of 10 per cent until the judgement sum is fully liquidated.”

The judge also ordered the reversal of the $163,592 withdrawal.

(NAN)

Dapo Abiodun’s Political Vendetta: What Kayode Akinmade Must Learn Before Speaking for Ogun State

The cries of political vendetta against Governor Dapo Abiodun are no longer whispers — they are now a roar across Ogun State. The latest trigger? Fresh threats to demolish properties linked to former governor and current senator, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

At the center of the governor’s defense machinery is his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, who has been quick to dismiss the warnings and concerns from Senator Daniel’s camp as nothing more than a “wolf cry.”

But Akinmade — an indigene of Idanre in Ondo State and a former Commissioner for Information under Governor Olusegun Mimiko — must be reminded that Ogun politics is not his native Ondo politics. Here, scars run deep, memories are long, and bulldozer politics is not easily forgiven.

Only two years ago, in a shocking midnight raid, Governor Abiodun ordered the demolition of a multimillion-naira complex in Ijebu Ode belonging to Yeye Olufunke Daniel, wife of the senator. The ₦5 billion structure, completed and awaiting commissioning, was flattened under the cover of darkness. Locals still say, “A dynamite would have done a cleaner job.”

At the time, the governor swore it wasn’t political — just as he is swearing now. But the court of public opinion and subsequent legal tussles told another story: it was pure political vendetta.

This is the same governor who, on September 11, 2023, publicly boasted of how he “saved” another property of OGD from demolition back when he assumed office in 2019, trying to paint himself as a magnanimous facilitator. Yet the contradiction is glaring: how does a man who once sought refuge in Asoludero Court — OGD’s stronghold — in March 2019, now target the very symbol of the support that helped him into office?

Let’s refresh memories for Mr. Akinmade: in 2019, when Dapo Abiodun was fighting to survive politically against the hostile machinery of his predecessor, it was OGD who publicly endorsed him, opening political doors and mobilizing his network to ensure Abiodun’s victory. That was no small favor — it was a kingmaker’s blessing.

Today, that same Asoludero Court is reportedly on the demolition list. If this isn’t political vendetta, then the word has lost its meaning.

So, Mr. Akinmade, before you rush to insult the intelligence of Ogun people with your press statements, thread softly. This is not Ondo State where you can play outsider politics without consequence. Ogun people know their history, their heroes, and their betrayers.

And tell your boss this: no bulldozer will ever erase the political memory of Ogun State. If he tries, the backlash will be louder than any machine he sends in the night.

Political Vendetta Gone Wild: Abiodun Targets Gbenga Daniel’s Mansions and Hotels for Demolition

The political battle in Ogun State has reached boiling point as Governor Dapo Abiodun moves against his predecessor, Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel, in what Daniel’s camp is calling a “brazen and shameless abuse of power.”

In a dramatic twist late Friday afternoon, August 8, agents allegedly acting on the governor’s orders swooped on Daniel’s sprawling Asoludero Court residence, the multi-billion-naira Conference Hotel in Sagamu, and its Annex—pasting contravention, quit, and demolition notices on all three properties at once.

The government claims the buildings violate provisions of the Ogun State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law No. 61 of 2022. But Daniel’s team says the accusations are absurd, pointing out that the properties were legally built years before the law even existed—Asoludero Court in 2004, Conference Hotel in 2013, and the Annex in 2015.

“This is not governance; it’s political gangsterism,” declared Steve Oliyide of the OGD Media Office. “Abiodun is weaponizing the law to destroy an opponent, trampling on due process, and using intimidation in place of justice.”

The fiery statement draws parallels to the notorious midnight demolition of DATKEM Plaza in Ijebu Ode—owned by Daniel’s wife—in September 2023, carried out under the cover of darkness on what critics described as “flimsy excuses.” That case is still in court, with the state government suffering repeated legal defeats.

Political watchers say the latest action signals a dangerous escalation in Ogun’s political wars, raising fears of a descent into open hostility ahead of the next election cycle.

As at press time, the Ogun State Government had not commented on the allegations, but tension in the state’s political circles is at an all-time high.