The Ebonyi State government awarded contracts worth N2.5 billion to a company owned by the younger brother of Governor Francis Nwifuru, in apparent violation of public procurement rules, an investigation by CITYSPY has found.
The company, Equitemise Nigeria Limited, was only about eight months old when it won the contracts.
The contracts
Data published on the state’s Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) portal shows that on July 25, 2024, the government awarded a N1.7 billion contract for the construction of a two-storey junior staff quarters at ICT University, Oferepke, to Equitemise.
A second contract, advertised in August 2024, was also awarded to the company at N889 million. It covers the upgrade of the Comprehensive Health Centre, Nwofe, to a general hospital.
Together, the two contracts amount to N2.5 billion.
Company’s age
Records from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) show that Equitemise was incorporated in November 2023, six months after Nwifuru assumed office as governor in May 2023.
The N1.7 billion contract was advertised in May 2024, when the company was six months old. The tender began in June 2024, when it was seven months old, and the award came when it was eight months old.
Bidding questions
According to the OCDS portal, another firm, Emmaxos Egbunmutex Nigeria, also bid for the N1.7 billion contract.
However, the investigation found that the phone number listed for Emmaxos is the same as the one listed for Equitemise. The report argued that if the two companies were unrelated, their contact numbers would differ.
Ownership
CAC beneficiary records list three owners of Equitemise: Emmanuel Mbam Nwifuru (80 per cent), Chimaobi Idenyi (10 per cent) and Ignatius Nathaniel Nwifuru (10 per cent).
Using social network analysis, THE WHISTLER established that Emmanuel Mbam Nwifuru is the governor’s younger brother.
On October 24, 2025, Nwifuru congratulated “my dear younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Mbam Nwifuru” on his traditional wedding via his official Facebook page. His media aide, Leo Ekene Oketa, re-shared the post.
The state’s First Lady, Mary Maudline Nwifuru, also described Emmanuel as the governor’s younger brother in a post the same month.
A TrueCaller check further showed that the contractor contact listed on the OCDS portal for one of the Equitemise contracts belongs to Emmanuel.
What the law says
Section 421 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 requires a company’s annual return to be signed by a director and the secretary and filed with the CAC within 42 days after its annual general meeting. The provision does not apply to single-member companies.
Section 422 requires each return to include certified copies of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, and the auditors’ and directors’ reports. Section 374 requires private companies to attach a certificate stating they have not invited the public to subscribe for shares or debentures.
The investigation said it was unclear how a company a few months old could meet these requirements or pay the necessary taxes.
Section 21(2)(e) of the Ebonyi State Public Procurement Act bars the award of contracts to bidders who are in arrears of taxes, charges, pensions or social insurance contributions, unless they have a lawful permit to pay in instalments.
The state’s procurement law also requires winning bidders to demonstrate technical and professional experience, equipment, personnel and financial capacity.
Experts react
Legal practitioner Awosusi Kehinde said awarding contracts to newly registered companies is a clear abuse of procurement regulations.
“A few months old company cannot file annual returns or get a tax certificate, which is one of the key requirements for awarding contracts. Also, the prerequisite experience of such an infant company in handling large projects is questionable,” he said.
Anthony Adejuwon, Founder and Team Lead of civic tech organisation Urban Alert, described the awards as irregular, saying a company incorporated months earlier has neither the history nor the opportunity to meet the statutory requirements.
He warned that such awards erode public trust and weaken social accountability, particularly when public funds flow to companies controlled by a governor’s immediate family.
Adejumo Kabir of Good Governance Africa said a N2.5 billion award to a firm with so little operating history raises questions about its technical capacity, financial strength and ability to deliver value for money. He listed poor execution, abandoned projects, inflated costs and the exclusion of more qualified businesses as the risks.
Kabir said a young company can meet its legal obligations depending on the applicable deadlines, and that the key question is whether Equitemise satisfied all eligibility criteria at the time of the awards. He urged the government to show that the process was transparent, adding that the timeline raises concerns about conflict of interest and possible political influence.
Government declines comment
Betty Uzoma, Executive Secretary of the Ebonyi State Bureau of Public Procurement, for comment.
She acknowledged the contracts and the companies that won them but declined to explain why they were awarded.
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