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.
