Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has declined to disclose the contract sum of the 18-storey Ibom Tower building being constructed in Lagos State, despite the project having attracted at least N41.05 billion in budgetary provisions since 2024.
In a series of videos reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Eno refused to give the figure when a journalist asked him about the cost of the project during an inspection visit at the weekend.
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Rather than disclose the contract sum, the governor said the cost was still being worked out because of changes and additional input from the project consultant.
“A lot of things have happened here that we didn’t envisage. The consultant has made a lot of input. I think we are still working back end,” Mr Eno said.
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“If you say a figure today, people hold you to it. So, I rather get the work done rightly than to begin to look at the price.
“All these are to help us increase the State IGR.”
Governor Eno’s response has raised questions about the transparency of a project for which the state government has made successive multibillion-naira budgetary provisions since its commencement.
A review of Akwa Ibom State’s budget documents by PREMIUM TIMES shows that N16 billion was provided for the construction of the Lagos building in the 2024 revised budget.
The provision was reduced to N10 billion in the revised 2025 budget, while another N15.05 billion was budgeted for the construction of the 18-storey Ibom Tower in the 2026 approved budget.
The cumulative budgetary provisions amount to N41.05 billion.
It remains unclear how much of the approved funds have actually been released and spent on the project.
The uncertainty is partly due to the failure of the state government to publish detailed budget performance reports since the first quarter of 2025 and capital expenditure in its audited financial statements.
Procurement secrecy
The absence of publicly available information on the project’s contract sum is also notable because Akwa Ibom’s public procurement framework provides for access to procurement information.
The state’s public procurement law requires the Bureau of Public Procurement and procuring entities to publish procurement information through the state’s electronic procurement portal.
PREMIUM TIMES found no procurement records relating to the Ibom Tower project when our reporter searched the portal on Tuesday, 11 August.
The newspaper found that the Eno administration rarely publishes comprehensive details of major public contracts, including contract sums, implementation schedules and procurement documents. This is a violation of Section 21(15) of the state’s 2026 Public Procurement Law which guarantees public access to procurement records.
The provision requires procurement records to contain information including the identity of contractors, contract values, dates of award, procurement proceedings, technical specifications and other information necessary to promote public accountability.
Such information would ordinarily enable residents to determine the actual financial commitment of the government to a major infrastructure project and track its implementation.
The lack of this information has made it difficult to independently establish the actual value of the building project in Lagos, how much has been paid to the contractor and whether subsequent budgetary provisions represent additional commitments, variations or outstanding obligations under the original contract.
Contractor incorporated 15 months before project flag-off
Findings by PREMIUM TIMES show that Messrs WL Construction Limited was selected as the main contractor for the project.
Other consultants associated with the project include D.O Design Build, the architect; Pois Consult Limited; and Alliance Engineering Consult, identified as structural engineers.
WL Construction Limited, according to checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission, was incorporated to carry on business in Nigeria on 11 July 2023, about two months after Mr Eno’s administration commenced.
The company was, therefore, registered 15 months before the state government officially flagged off the Ibom Tower project in November 2024.
The acronym “WL” stands for Western Legacy.
The circumstances surrounding the selection of the contractor and the procurement process leading to the award could not be independently established from publicly available procurement records.
The state government has also not publicly disclosed the bidding documents, number of companies that participated in the procurement process, evaluation reports, award documents or the contract sum.
PREMIUM TIMES previously reported how Mr Eno publicly disclosed that a contractor was awarded a job without bidding.
The newspaper also reported that the governor sought powers in the state’s new procurement law to bypass bidding for multi-billion naira contracts.
N2.934 trillion revenue
The opacity surrounding the Lagos project comes against the backdrop of substantial revenue accruing to the state under Mr Eno.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Akwa Ibom received more than N2.934 trillion in revenue in the first 38 months of the governor’s administration.
The state’s increased financial resources have enabled the government to embark on multibillion-naira projects across sectors.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the state budgeted N26.91 billion for the renovation of a hotel in Uyo.
But the availability of funds has also heightened calls for greater transparency over how the money is being spent.
The government has repeatedly presented infrastructure development and investment as central to its economic strategy, including the construction of the Lagos tower, which it says is intended to generate income for the state.
Mr Eno, while responding to the question on the cost of the project, specifically said the investment would boost the state’s internally generated revenue.
“All these are to help us increase the State IGR,” he said.
However, without disclosure of the contract value, expenditure to date, funding structure and projected returns, it is difficult for the public to independently assess the financial implications or the economic viability of the investment.
Why Lagos?
The decision to commit billions of naira to an 18-storey commercial development in Lagos has also generated questions among residents of Akwa Ibom.
Critics have questioned why a government whose state has significant infrastructure and development needs would prioritise a major property investment outside the state.
Akwa Ibom remains one of Nigeria’s states with significant levels of multidimensional poverty, raising questions about the balance between investments designed to generate future revenue and immediate spending on social and economic needs within the state.
The government has argued that the Lagos project is an investment intended to generate income for Akwa Ibom rather than simply a construction project.
But the absence of publicly available procurement and expenditure information has made it difficult to independently scrutinise that justification.
For now, the exact contract value of the Ibom Tower remains undisclosed by the state government, even though budgetary provisions for the project have reached N41.05 billion.
And while the governor says he would rather “get the work done rightly” than disclose a figure that could later change, the procurement law places the responsibility for documenting and making public the financial details of government contracts on the state not on future estimates of what the project may eventually cost.
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