Picture of Malachy Agbo, Enugu Information Commissioner
The Enugu State Government has accused Mr. Olasijibomi Ogundele, Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, of defrauding the state of ₦5.7 billion, which was part-payment for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across various locations in the state.
In a press statement released by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Malachy Agbo, the government alleged that Mr. Ogundele disappeared after receiving the funds without executing substantial work on the sites.
“Rather than play to the rules of the contract to deliver quality projects for furnishing and equipping ahead of September 2025 school resumption, in line with the priority placed on the Smart Green Schools initiative by the government, Mr. Ogundele resorted to shoddy jobs and the use of inexperienced workers and quack engineers.”
“None of his sites met the structural integrity of the projects as specified in the structural drawing,” the statement read.
A physical inspection of the sites reportedly revealed minimal or no visible construction, while repeated attempts by the state government to reach Mr. Ogundele over the past year were unsuccessful.
“Worse still, he vanished into thin air with the money. All efforts made by the government to get him to a roundtable to discuss the quality and progress of work proved abortive.”
“He equally refused to attend the periodic projects briefing organised by the state government for all contractors or take numerous calls and messages put across to him,” the statement continued.
As a result, the state government has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intervene and recover the public funds.
“In fact, he practically abandoned the sites, leaving the Enugu State Government with no other choice than to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover the funds paid to him.”
A joint inspection by officials from the state Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and the EFCC was conducted on May 8 and 9, 2025, across the 22 school sites.
According to the government, the team confirmed that nearly no meaningful work had been carried out a year after the contract was awarded.
“A joint team of officers of the Enugu State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and the EFCC visited the 22 sites to evaluate the progress of work on May 8 and 9, 2025, where it was clearly established that there had been minimal to no significant work done at the said sites one year after the contract award. In some cases, he fraudulently did not do excavation for all the blocks in site.”
Further compounding the issue, the state alleged that Ogundele manipulated the financial process by presenting a performance bond from Jaiz Bank to secure the contract but received payment through a Zenith Bank account, complicating any accountability tied to the bond.
“It is also pertinent to state that it was discovered in the course of investigation that whereas he presented a bond from Jaiz Bank, he used Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited’s Zenith Bank account to receive the said payment and draw down the fund without deploying it to the projects. This clearly shows a premeditated intent to defraud the state ab initio.”
The original contract, dated July 2, 2024, was worth ₦11.45 billion, with an initial 50% upfront payment of ₦5.76 billion issued to accelerate delivery within six months.
“For the avoidance of doubt, on July 2, 2024, the Enugu State Government awarded a contract in the sum of ₦11,457,930,950.52 to Sujimoto Luxury Construction Ltd for the construction of 22 Smart Schools (buildings only) in six months starting from the date of the acceptance of the award.”
“The Enugu State Government paid the sum of ₦5,762,565,475.25, representing 50 per cent of the contract sum, in order to fast-track the projects at all the sites.”
The government has now terminated the contract and reassigned the sites to new construction firms.
“The government has since retaken and handed over the sites to new firms, who has no choice than to start the construction afresh. Tremendous progress has been made to keep the determination of the Mbah Administration to migrate Enugu children to Smart Green Schools by September on track.”
In conclusion, the government warned the public to ignore any attempts by Mr. Ogundele to downplay the allegations, vowing to recover every kobo.
“Nigerians should therefore disregard his theatrics and crocodile tears, as Enugu State Government is determined to and will surely recover every penny of Ndi Enugu fraudulently obtained by Mr. Olasijibomi Ogundele (Sujimoto).”
