The Enugu State Government has firmly dismissed the public defense mounted by Olasijibomi Ogundele, CEO of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, and reiterated its determination to recover a whopping N5.76 billion allegedly defrauded from the state through a botched school construction project.
Ogundele, who was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday for suspected money laundering and fund diversion, released a video denying any wrongdoing and vowing to clear his name with the anti-graft agency.
The controversy centers on a contract awarded to Sujimoto on July 2, 2024, for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across the state at a total cost of N11.46 billion.
To expedite the project, the government released 50% of the contract sum—N5,762,565,475.25—upfront.
However, a joint inspection by the Enugu State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and EFCC officials on May 8 and 9, 2025, revealed that little to no substantial work had been done at the sites more than a year after the award, with some locations showing no excavation or structural progress at all.
State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Malachy Agbo, lambasted Ogundele's recent video statement as "theatrics and crocodile tears," accusing him of shoddy workmanship and employing "inexperienced workers and quack engineers."
Agbo emphasized that none of the sites met the required structural integrity as outlined in the project drawings.
"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," Agbo stated.
"Rather than play to the rules of the contract to deliver quality projects… Mr. Ogundele resorted to shoddy jobs."
The government further alleged that Ogundele abandoned the project sites, ignored official communications, and failed to attend project briefings or cooperate with authorities during inspections.
Despite providing a performance bond from Jaiz Bank to secure the deal, payments were funneled into Sujimoto's account without any meaningful deployment to the ground work, which officials described as "a premeditated intent to defraud the state ab initio."
In response, Ogundele, in a widely circulated video, maintained his innocence and linked the issue directly to the Enugu contract.
"I’ll report to EFCC, clear my name," he declared, portraying the matter as a contractual dispute rather than fraud.
However, the state government remains unmoved, insisting on full recovery.
"Enugu State Government is determined to and will surely recover every penny of Ndi Enugu fraudulently obtained by Mr. Olasijibomi Ogundele (Sujimoto)," Agbo affirmed.
In a bid to salvage the initiative, which aims to modernize education infrastructure ahead of the 2025 school year, the Enugu government has already reassigned the 22 project sites to new contractors.
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