The Enugu State Government has accused Olasijibomi Ogundele, CEO of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, of fleeing after allegedly collecting N5.7 billion as part payment for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across the state.
In a statement issued on Friday by Dr. Malachy Agbo, Commissioner for Information and Communication, the government alleged that Ogundele failed to deliver on the contract, abandoned the project sites, and ignored repeated invitations for progress meetings.
“For the avoidance of doubt, on July 2, 2024, the Enugu State Government awarded a contract in the sum of N11,457,930,950.52 to Sujimoto Luxury Construction Ltd for the construction of 22 Smart Schools (buildings only) in 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.
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 to discuss the quality and progress of work proved abortive,” the statement read.
The state further claimed that Ogundele used a Zenith Bank account linked to the Ministry of Works instead of the Jaiz Bank bond he presented to secure the contract, making it impossible for the government to hold the bank accountable.
“It is also pertinent to state that it was discovered in the course of investigation that whereas he presented a bond from Jaiz Bank, he used Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited’s Zenith Bank account number 1312731196 to receive the said payment and draw down the fund without deploying it to the projects. This clearly shows a premeditated intent to defraud the state ab initio,” the government alleged.
The state said a joint inspection team with the EFCC visited the project sites on May 8 and 9, 2025, and confirmed “minimal to no significant work done” one year after the award.
Enugu government has since revoked the contract, re-awarded the projects to new contractors, and vowed to recover “every penny of Ndi Enugu fraudulently obtained by Mr. Olasijibomi Ogundele (Sujimoto).”
The allegations follow the EFCC’s declaration of Ogundele as wanted on Friday morning for alleged money laundering and fund diversion. Ogundele, in a video response, denied being on the run and claimed the state government did not release enough funds to execute the projects.
