Looting Pipeline: Ebonyi State Gov. Nwifuru Awards ₦13.965 Billion Flyover to 17 Months Old Company Suspected To Be Diversion Conduit

Secrets Reporters

 An investigation by SecretsReporters has uncovered that Koton Okenwa Ltd, a company incorporated on May 20, 2024, was awarded a ₦13,965,398,010 flyover contract in Ebonyi State on October 17, 2025, only 17 months after its registration. The firm, with no publicly documented history of major infrastructure projects, emerged as the lowest responsive bidder for the Nwezenyi Flyover and Ancillary Road project in Izzi Local Government Area.

According to records from the Ebonyi State e-Procurement portal, the tender was advertised on September 1, 2025, with bid opening on October 2, 2025. Koton Okenwa submitted the winning bid of ₦13.965 billion, undercutting competitors Sumec Construction & Engineering Nigeria Ltd (₦19.52 billion) and Wokor Services Company Limited (₦46.10 billion). The contract, managed by the Ministry of Infrastructural Development for Concession, runs from October 17, 2025, to October 17, 2026.

Corporate Affairs Commission documents show the company is owned by Nwodom Nwabueze (40%) and Nwome Philomina Eunice (60%), both appointed directors on the date of incorporation. The registered address is Amagu Street, Abakaliki. No evidence of prior contracts, completed projects, or demonstrated technical capacity in heavy civil engineering works appears in public records or media reports prior to the award.

Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act 2007 (Sections 16, 23, and 24) and the Ebonyi State Public Procurement and Related Matters Law 2020 require bidders to demonstrate professional qualifications, financial capability, adequate equipment, sufficient personnel, tax compliance, and a clean record of fraud or impropriety. Pre-qualification proceedings must assess these criteria before tenders are invited, and awards must go to the most responsive bidder based on predefined technical and financial evaluation.

The award raises questions about compliance with these provisions. Critics argue that a company less than two years old would struggle to meet the stringent requirements for a project of this magnitude without substantial prior experience or verifiable infrastructure. The absence of documented track record for Koton Okenwa Ltd at the time of bidding has prompted concerns over potential favoritism, inadequate due diligence, or circumvention of capacity verification rules.

Section 16(1) and 16(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) mandate that public resources be managed to promote balanced economic development and maximum welfare for citizens on the basis of social justice. Observers say the award of such a high-value contract to a newly formed entity without transparent demonstration of capacity risks undermining public confidence in the procurement process and value for money.

The project remains active, with implementation ongoing. The development comes amid broader scrutiny of infrastructure spending in several states, where questions about contractor experience, bid transparency, and project execution have persisted.

The Ebonyi State Government has not responded to queries from SecretsReporters regarding the firm’s technical and financial qualifications, pre-qualification process, or how the evaluation committee verified compliance with the law. The Ministry of Infrastructural Development for Concession, the procuring entity, was also unreachable at the time of filing this report.