By Secrets Reporters
Roads and erosion control absorbed N39.1 billion of the Federal Co-operative College Oji River’s spending under Provost Dr. Jude Ejikeme Obidiegwu. Construction, renovation and markets took another N28.40 billion. Health and maternity facilities took N4.14 billion. The college, a cooperative-education institution in Enugu, spent like a works ministry.
The signature awards came in two waves. On 16 February 2025, 21 companies were paid exactly N447,500,000 each for the completion of rural roads, hospital rehabilitation and market construction. On 13 December 2025, ten more companies received exactly N447,500,000 each. Thirty-one awards, one identical sum, N13.8725 billion in total. The descriptions read like a roll call: “COMPLETION OF URUK ATA IKOT EBO CONNECTING RURAL ROAD, ETIM EKPO” by PROGRESSIVE CONTRACTORS LTD; “COMPLETION OF ADAHA AYAM-URUA/IKOT IMO ROAD, ABAK” by BEYER DYNAMIC LTD; “COMPLETION OF INTERNAL ROAD AT ATAN RESIDENTIAL ESTATE, IKOT EKPENE” by CORPORATE BOMANTI LTD; “ROAD RECLAMATION AND DRAINAGE WORKS OF UDOJI ROAD, OZUBULU” by KEN VIC MOORE BIZ VENTURES NIG LIMITED.
The December wave turned to hospitals and markets as Grunt Engineering Ltd, Hard Harts Construction Ltd were each paid N447.5 million for the rehabilitation of hospitals in Baare Farinde, Isa Ope and Araromi Onfo communities, the same communities whose rehabilitation the college had advertised for prequalification in September 2024. Gold Reef Construction Ltd, Handerson Builders Ltd and Bellevue Investments Ltd were paid the same sum for the construction and rehabilitation of rural markets in Ataa, Agberiodo and Oke Akanni.
The same five contractors recur across the waves, all appearing on both dates, each time collecting the identical N447.5 million. The Public Procurement Act 2007 requires open competition for public contracts; identical awards to a rotating cast of familiar companies on identical dates is the shape of awards made without it. The CAC registry now supplies what open checks could not. Nine of the thirty-one were incorporated within about six weeks of one another, carrying near-sequential registration numbers. Blue light gold system Ltd (RC 6864753, 6 February 2023), Gold reef construction Ltd (RC 6911523, 20 March 2023), Zentrum Builders Ltd (RC 6912437, 21 March 2023), Bellevue Investments Ltd (RC 6913587, 23 March 2023), Beyer Dynamic Ltd (RC 6913593, 23 March 2023), Progressive Contractors Ltd (RC 6924340, 3 April 2023), Grunt Engineering Ltd (RC 6925229, 4 April 2023), Hard Harts Construction Ltd (RC 6927179, 4 April 2023) and Handerson Builders Ltd (RC 6928909, 5 April 2023). These are the core of the identical-N447.5 million road, hospital and market awards.
A search of public reporting found no completion evidence for the named roads in Etim Ekpo or Abak, and no commissioning of the rehabilitated hospitals.
The college’s mandate, by its own delegation’s description, is training and strengthening the cooperative sector but its spending describes something else entirely.
