The Enugu State Government has narrated how the Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Olasijibomi Ogundele, allegedly defrauded the state of N5.7 billion.
How it started
The Enugu State Government had claimed Mr Ogundele absconded after he was paid the N5.7 billion for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools in different parts of Enugu State.
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The government consequently filed a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the entrepreneur.
The EFCC, on Friday, consequently declared Mr Ogundele wanted over alleged diversion of funds and money laundering.
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Hours later, a viral video surfaced online in which Mr Ogundele, visibly emotional, insisted he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
The real estate developer, who broke down in tears, explained that the allegations were linked to a contract between his company and the Enugu State Government.
He claimed the governor contracted him to build the schools at a low price which he feared would be impossible but later decided to give it “a try”.
“I’m not a thief, I’m not a fugitive,” he said.
Mr Ogundele insisted that he undertook the project with utmost sincerity but lamented that inflation and prolonged delays worsened the situation.
“When we took the contract, at every point, I knew that it was difficult to do it because of the pricing.
“When we took the contract, cement was N7,000, by the time we left, cement was N10,000,” he said, adding that people also shot at his workers at intervals in some sites.
‘Ignore his crocodile tears’
But in a statement on Friday night, the Commissioner for Information in Enugu State, Malachy Agbo, refuted Mr Ogundele’s claims.
Mr Agbo accused the entrepreneur of “premeditated fraud,” explaining that while he presented a bond issued by Jaiz Bank to secure the contract, he used the company’s Zenith Bank account registered with the state’s Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to receive the said payment.
The information commissioner said the strategy made it impossible for the state government to hold Jaiz Bank liable.
He said the contract, worth N11.4 billion, was awarded to Mr Ogundele’s firm on 2 July 2024 for the construction of the schools within six months starting from the date of the acceptance of the award.
“The Enugu State Government paid the sum of N5,762,565,475.25, representing 50 per cent of the contract sum, in order to fast-track the projects at all 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.
READ ALSO: “I’m not a thief or fugitive” — Sujimoto reacts after EFCC declared him wanted
“None of his sites met the structural integrity of the projects as specified in the structural drawing,” Mr Agbo narrated.
“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.”
The commissioner added that Mr Ogundele equally refused to respond to calls or attend to periodic projects briefing organised by the state government for all contractors.
“In fact, he practically abandoned the sites, leaving the Enugu State Government with no other choice than to petition the EFCC to recover the funds paid to him.
“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,” he said.
Continuing, Mr Agbo said: “In some cases, he fraudulently did not do excavation for all the blocks in site.”
“The government has since retaken and handed over the sites to new firms, who have no choice than to start the construction afresh.
“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),” he stated.
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