The Enugu State Government has accused the Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Olasijibomi Ogundele, of defrauding the state of N5.76 billion meant for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across the state.

PUNCH Online had reported that Ogundele on Friday was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged money laundering and diversion of funds.

Afterwards, a video surfaced with Ogundele insisting he was not guilty of any crime, and ready to clear his name.

The real estate developer explained that the controversy stemmed from a contract with the Enugu State Government.

In a statement on Friday, the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Malachy Agbo, said the contract was awarded on July 2, 2024, for a total sum of N11,457,930,950.52, covering the construction of 22 Smart Schools.

According to Agbo, the state paid 50 per cent of the contract upfront to accelerate the work, but it was abandoned.

“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,” the statement partly read.

The government alleged that Ogundele failed to meet contractual obligations, deploying inexperienced workers and engineers while producing substandard work.

“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,” Agbor stated.

According to the statement, efforts by the government to engage Ogundele proved unsuccessful, as he allegedly ignored calls, messages, and invitations to periodic project briefings.

It was also stated that he also did not make himself available to law enforcement agencies during inspections.

“All efforts made by the government to get him to a roundtable to discuss the quality and progress of work proved abortive.

“He equally refused to attend the periodic projects briefing organised by the state government for all contractors or take numerous calls and messages put across to him.

“In fact, he practically abandoned the sites, leaving the Enugu State Government with no other choice than to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover the funds paid to him,” he said.

The state government said it has since reassigned the sites to new contractors to ensure the completion of the Smart Green Schools initiative ahead of the 2025 school resumption.The state government called on Nigerians to ignore Ogundele’s public statements, describing them as “theatrics and crocodile tears.”“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),” the statement concluded. (Courtesy: The PUNCH)