The Enugu State Government has accused Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited of abandoning a multi-billion-naira contract for the construction of 22 Smart Schools across the state after receiving half of the contract sum.
In a statement on Saturday, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo, said the government awarded the contract worth N11,457,930,950.52 to the firm on July 2, 2024, with a six-month delivery timeline.
According to him, the government paid N5,762,565,475.25, representing 50 percent of the contract value, to fast-track the projects. However, instead of delivering the schools, the contractor allegedly engaged quack engineers, carried out substandard jobs, and eventually abandoned the sites.
“None of the sites met the structural integrity as specified in the drawings. Worse still, he vanished into thin air with the money and ignored all government efforts to engage him,” Agbo said.
The commissioner explained that the government petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the contractor failed to attend periodic project briefings or respond to calls and messages.
A joint inspection by officials of the Ministry of Works and EFCC on May 8 and 9, 2025, reportedly showed that minimal to no work had been done at the project sites one year after the award.
Agbo also alleged that Sujimoto presented a performance bond from Jaiz Bank but used a Zenith Bank account (number 1312731196) to receive and divert the funds, an act the government described as fraudulent.
He added that the state has since re-awarded the contracts to new firms, who have restarted construction to ensure that Governor Peter Mbah’s administration meets its target of migrating Enugu children to Smart Green Schools by September 2025.
“Nigerians should disregard his theatrics and crocodile tears. The Enugu State Government will surely recover every kobo of Ndi Enugu fraudulently obtained by Mr. Olasijibomi Ogundele (Sujimoto),” Agbo said.
