Enugu State Government has fired back at Olasijibomi Ogundele, chief executive officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, accusing him of defrauding the state to the tune of N5.7 billion.
Gatekeepers News reports that the backlash follows a viral video where Ogundele, in tears, denied wrongdoing after Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared him wanted for alleged diversion of funds and money laundering on Friday.
In the video, Ogundele said the allegations were linked to a contract with the Enugu government to construct 22 smart green schools, a project he claimed was hampered by inflation and security challenges.
He said, “I’m not a thief, I’m not a fugitive,” pointing out that the price of cement had risen from N7,000 to N10,000 per bag, while attacks on his workers further slowed progress.
Replying, Malachy Agbo, Enugu’s commissioner for information, dismissed Ogundele’s emotional plea, describing it as theatrics and crocodile tears.
According to Agbo, the contract valued at N11.4 billion, was awarded on July 2, 2024, with a six-month completion deadline. He said Ogundele collected N5.7 billion as an advance payment but failed to deliver, instead resorting to “shoddy jobs and the use of inexperienced workers and quack engineers.”
Agbo added, “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.”
“None of his sites met the structural integrity of the projects as specified in the structural drawing. Worse still, he vanished into thin air with the money. All efforts made by the government to get him to a roundtable proved abortive.”
The commissioner further alleged that Ogundele secured the project using a Jaiz Bank bond but diverted the payment into a Zenith Bank account, effectively shielding Jaiz from liability.
A joint inspection by state officials and EFCC operatives in May 2025 reportedly found “minimal to no significant work” across the 22 sites.
Agbo stressed that the government has already reassigned the projects to new contractors while working with the EFCC to recover funds.
He added, “Nigerians should disregard his theatrics and crocodile tears. The Enugu State Government will surely recover every penny of Ndi Enugu obtained by Olasijibomi Ogundele.”
