The Enugu State Patriots, a group of leaders cutting across political and professional backgrounds, has thrown its weight behind the efforts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Enugu State Government to recover the sum of N5.7 billion so far paid in tranches 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 disputed the claim by Sujimoto’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Olasijibomi Suji Ogundele, 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.
It said that 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 “shambolic work he did at the entire 22 sites before they were recovered by government.”
Enugu Patriots made its position known in a statement by its spokesperson, Prof. MathiineAnikwe, yesterday, faulting the attempt by Ogundele to blame inflation and profit margin since many contractors had already delivered their projects.
It 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 Value Added Tax (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,” Anikwe added.
Meanwhile, other contractors handling multiple Smart Green School Projects for the state have expressed satisfaction with the system put in place by the government, saying that they were delivering the projects in line with the government’s standards and schedule.
