The Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Sijibomi Ogundele, has spoken publicly after being declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC, through its spokesman Dele Oyewale, alleged that Ogundele was wanted for money laundering and diversion of funds.
According to the Commission, he is a 44-year-old from Ori-Ade Local Government, Osun State, with a last known address at Banana Island, Lagos.
However, Ogundele has dismissed the allegations, insisting he is not a criminal.
“I’m not a thief, I’m not a fugitive. This is a contract between my company and the Enugu State Government,” he said.
Ogundele explained that the controversy stems from a series of projects handled by his company for the Enugu State Government.
According to him, the initial agreement involved supporting the government with several projects, including schools.
He further revealed that the governor later expressed interest in building Nigeria’s tallest tower, a proposed 69-story building.
While that idea was put on hold, he was asked to focus on delivering schools at a lower budget.
“I told the government this project is impossible because the pricing was too low. They said, ‘Don’t worry, just help us.’ They assured me I would recover my costs later from bigger projects,” Ogundele said.
The Sujimoto boss disclosed that he mobilized 42 engineers to Enugu, working across several local governments despite personal and financial setbacks.
He added that economic realities worsened the project’s delivery.
“When we took the contract, cement was ₦7,000. By the time we left, it was ₦10,000. Prices skyrocketed and made things difficult,” he noted.
Ogundele also claimed his team endured security threats while working on site.
“Sometimes my staff were shot at in the villages, but we stayed committed,” he said.
The businessman admitted that the project eventually faced challenges, leading to legal disputes.
“They took us to court. I told the court we don’t want to fight with the government. Let’s agree on how much we owe, and I was in agreement with them,” Ogundele explained.
Despite that, he expressed disappointment that the EFCC declared him wanted, alleging it was an attempt to destroy his reputation.
Ogundele insisted he has no intention of running from the law.
“They want to destroy me. But I’m going to go to the EFCC office to clear my name,” he said.
The luxury real estate mogul also highlighted how inflation and rising costs have stalled not only the Enugu project but also some of his private developments.
Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited is well-known for building premium real estate across Nigeria, including luxury apartments and state-of-the-art projects.
