Ebonyi Works Ministry Awards ₦3.3 Billion Road Contract to Firm Owned by Its Own Permanent Secretary
When the Ebonyi State Ministry of Works and Transport announced in May 2025 that it had awarded a contract worth ₦3.3 billion for the “Construction of Concrete Rigid Pavement TTC-Iboko Road,” few eyebrows were raised at first. On paper, it was yet another ambitious infrastructure push by Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration—one of dozens of road projects promised under his first two years in office.
But documents obtained and reviewed by SaharaReporters now reveal that the contract was handed to Maurifrank Nigeria Limited, a company directly owned and managed by none other than the ministry’s own Permanent Secretary, Mr. Nkwuda Monday Nnanna.
The revelation has triggered a storm of controversy in Abakaliki, exposing how procurement processes are allegedly bent in favor of top civil servants, undermining Nigeria’s anti-corruption laws and public procurement safeguards.
At stake is more than a road. This case cuts to the heart of how governance operates in Nigeria’s states: whether public institutions are accountable to citizens—or captured by the very officials meant to serve them.
According to corporate filings retrieved from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Maurifrank Nigeria Limited lists four directors:
- Nkwuda Monday Nnanna
- Nkwuda Roseline
- Nkwuda Frankline
- Nkwuda Anita
In other words, the company is essentially a family business.
Further investigation established that Nkwuda Monday Nnanna is currently the Permanent Secretary of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Works and Transport, the same ministry that awarded Maurifrank the ₦3.3 billion contract.
On Maurifrank’s official website, the company contact details openly list Monday Nkwuda’s personal Gmail address—mondaynkwuda16@gmail.com—along with his verified phone number (withheld in this report for privacy reasons).
The conflict of interest could not be more glaring.
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Checks show that during the tendering process, Maurifrank Nigeria Limited submitted a bid of ₦2.6 billion. However, when the contract was finalized, the award was mysteriously inflated to ₦3.3 billion—an additional ₦700 million above its original offer.
Procurement experts say such discrepancies often indicate either collusion at the evaluation stage or post-bid manipulations designed to funnel extra funds to contractors.
“It is highly unusual for a contract sum to rise by that margin after the bidding stage,” said a procurement consultant based in Abuja who asked not to be named. “Unless the scope of work changes significantly, the awarded sum should align closely with the original bid.”
No documentation seen so far explains why this upward adjustment occurred.
The Ebonyi State Public Procurement Act 2020 is clear about the illegality of this arrangement.
Section 21 (19):
“Persons who have been engaged in preparing for a procurement or part of a proceedings thereof may neither bid for the procurement in question or any part thereof, either as main contractor or sub-contractor nor may they cooperate in any manner with bidders in the course of preparing their tenders.”
Section 21 (16):
“The accounting officer of a procuring entity, and any officer to which the task is delegated are responsible and accountable for any actions taken or omitted to be taken either in compliance with or contravention of the law.”
Section 21 (17):
“The accounting officer of the procuring entity has the responsibility to ensure that provisions of this law and regulations laid down by the Bureau are complied with and concurrent approval by any tenders board shall not absolve the accounting officer for accountability.”
As Permanent Secretary, Mr. Nkwuda is the ministry’s chief accounting officer. He bears direct responsibility for ensuring transparency. Instead, evidence suggests he positioned his own company to profit from public funds.
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This is not the first time questions have been raised about Ebonyi’s contract culture. Since the state’s creation in 1996, successive administrations have faced accusations of using state contracts as patronage tools.
Former Governor Dave Umahi was repeatedly accused by opposition figures of funneling projects to companies owned by his relatives. In 2017, SaharaReporters reported how firms linked to Umahi’s family secured contracts worth billions, though no prosecution followed.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, who took over in May 2023, campaigned on promises to clean up procurement practices and “stop government from becoming a family business.”
The Nkwuda revelations, however, raise doubts about whether much has changed.
The story has triggered outrage among anti-corruption advocates and civic groups.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said in a statement shared
“Awarding a multi-billion-naira contract to a company owned by the Permanent Secretary of the very ministry supervising the project is a brazen violation of procurement law. It represents an abuse of office and a betrayal of public trust. We call on the EFCC and ICPC to launch an immediate investigation.”
The Ebonyi Transparency Coalition (ETC), a local watchdog group, warned that if unchecked, such practices will bankrupt the state:
“How can Ebonyi, one of the poorest states in Nigeria, afford to waste billions on inflated contracts to insiders? This is why schools are underfunded, hospitals are crumbling, and communities lack potable water.”
In Abakaliki’s bustling Kpirikpiri Market, traders expressed disillusionment.
“If the Permanent Secretary is giving himself contracts, then who will check the government?” asked Mrs. Chinwe Nworie, a foodstuff seller. “We are suffering, no jobs, no good roads in our villages, but officials are eating the money.”
A civil servant in the state capital, who requested anonymity for fear of victimization, was blunt:
“This is why morale is low in the service. If you don’t have power or connections, you’re left behind. The people at the top use the system for themselves.”
Public finance experts describe the Ebonyi case as a textbook example of state capture—where public institutions are manipulated by elites for private gain.
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“Permanent Secretaries are supposed to be neutral technocrats,” noted Dr. Charles Okechukwu, a lecturer in Public Administration at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. “But when they become players in procurement, the entire principle of separation between policymaking and execution collapses.”
He warned that such practices not only inflate costs but also compromise quality:
“If the referee is also a player, who ensures the road is built to standard? Who ensures funds are not diverted? This is why Nigeria has white elephant projects everywhere.”
The Ebonyi revelations echo scandals across Nigeria.
In 2020, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was rocked by an exposé that directors awarded contracts to their own shell companies.
In 2022, investigations revealed that Kano’s Ministry of Education had issued contracts worth over ₦1 billion to firms linked to senior officials.
Federal lawmakers have repeatedly been accused of inserting companies owned by themselves or their relatives into constituency project budgets.
Despite multiple anti-corruption agencies—EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau—few such cases ever result in convictions.
The TTC-Iboko Road project is located in Izzi Local Government Area, a politically significant part of Ebonyi.
The community has long complained of being marginalized in road projects. By awarding such a high-profile contract, the government may have sought to appease local sentiments.
But citizens say they now feel cheated.
“We wanted a road, not a scandal,” said youth leader Obinna Ogbaga. “We are not against development, but why must they use our community to share money?”
When contacted for comment, officials of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Works declined to speak on record.
Permanent Secretary Nkwuda Monday did not respond to calls, texts, or emails sent by SaharaReporters as of press time.
Governor Francis Nwifuru’s spokesperson, Dr. Sunday Nwoba, also failed to return multiple requests for clarification.
The silence, activists say, deepens suspicion.
If Nigeria’s laws are to be applied, Mr. Nkwuda could face:
- Sanctions by the Ebonyi State Civil Service Commission for gross misconduct.
- Investigation by the ICPC for breach of procurement law.
- Asset declaration scrutiny by the Code of Conduct Bureau.
However, observers are skeptical.
“Unless civil society mounts serious pressure, this case may be buried,” warned Barrister Chima Nnadi, a constitutional lawyer in Enugu. “The system is designed to protect insiders.”
This scandal offers several broader lessons:
- Procurement transparency must be strengthened by publishing all contract award details online.
- Permanent Secretaries and Directors should be barred from holding stakes in contracting firms.
- Independent monitoring bodies, including citizen committees, should be empowered to review state projects.
- Whistleblower protection must be enforced to encourage insiders to expose corruption.
At a time when Ebonyi’s budget struggles to cover teachers’ salaries and basic health services, the diversion of ₦3.3 billion into a conflicted contract represents more than just corruption. It is a theft of opportunity—from schoolchildren who lack classrooms, from farmers whose produce rots on bad roads, from patients who die in underfunded hospitals.
Whether this revelation sparks reform—or becomes another forgotten scandal—depends on how citizens, civil society, and institutions respond.
For now, the TTC-Iboko Road may stand less as a symbol of development, and more as a monument to how public office in Nigeria is often paved not with service, but with self-interest.