Enugu State stakeholders, under the aegis of Enugu Patriots,
have urged the CEO of Sujimoto, Olasijibomi Suji Ogundele, to end the pretense
and return the money allegedly misappropriated from the state government’s
Smart Schools Project.
The group threw its weight behind efforts by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Enugu State Government to
recover the total sum of N5.7 billion so far paid to Sujimoto Luxury
Construction Limited for the construction of 22 out of the 260 Smart Green
Schools embarked upon by the government.
The group also punctured the claim by Sujimoto that his
company had already spent N4 billion on the projects before the termination of
the contract at the expiration of the agreed completion time in February 2025.
According to the group, pictures and videos of the sites as
of May 2025 and a report it sourced from the Enugu State Ministry of Works and
Infrastructure showed that Sujimoto could not have spent up to N600 million on
the work he did at the entire 22 sites before they were recovered by
government.
The group spoke in a statement by its spokesperson, Prof.
Mathiine Anikwe, on Monday.
It also faulted the attempt by Ogundele to blame inflation
and profit margin, noting that many contractors had already delivered their own
projects.
The Enugu Patriots equally faulted the Sujimoto CEO’s claim
that his company got only N5.2 billion instead of N5.7 billion, describing it
as an attempt to discountenance the company’s VAT/tax obligations.
“The fact that education was over 30 per cent in the 2024
budget and 33 per cent in 2025 underscores the priority the Mbah Administration
places on the sector. That is massive and has to do with the 260 Smart Green
Schools.
“No one can blame the government for awarding the contract
to Sujimoto, given its projects in Lagos. But having failed to show value for
money here, we advise Ogundele to clean his crocodile tears and return the
money to Ndi Enugu. Period,” the statement added.
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