ONELGA Chairman Revokes Council Administrative Building Rehabilitation Contract

The Chairman of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA), Honourable Shedrack Chukwu Ogbogu, has revoked the contract for the rehabilitation of the administrative building at the Omoku Council Secretariat, citing what he described as sabotage and insincerity by the contractor, Hecatobe Global Concepts.

Hon. Ogbogu announced the decision during a press briefing in his office, explaining that the revocation became necessary to salvage what he described as an increasingly troubling situation.

He stated that the action was also aimed at fulfilling the assurance he gave to the people of ONELGA upon assuming office, that some of the administrative office buildings would be completed on or before the end of February 2026.

Following the cancellation of the contract, the Chairman directed the Council’s Engineer to immediately take over the project and ensure the speedy completion of the administrative blocks through direct labour, noting that the originally promised completion timeline had already elapsed.

He explained that although his administration discovered several irregularities in the contract process initiated by the previous administration led by Isaac Umejuru, his government initially decided to continue with the project in the interest of timely completion.

According to him, “Even though we noticed several infractions in the contract award process under the short-lived administration of Isaac Umejuru, we decided to bear the burden because the contractor initially showed commitment to return to site after I issued a 48-hour ultimatum upon assuming office as Chairman.”

He said the decision was taken to ensure the completion of the project and ease the operational challenges currently faced by the Council’s leadership and staff.

The Chairman alleged that the contractor failed to complete the project despite receiving an additional payment of ₦100 million from the Council, aside from funds previously disbursed by the past administration for the same contract.

Describing the situation as a deliberate and questionable delay, Hon. Ogbogu said the development appeared to be aimed at causing unnecessary hardship for his administration.

He lamented that he is currently operating from a small and inadequate office space, having chosen that option rather than conduct official duties under trees within the Council’s premises, a situation many council staff are currently facing.

Despite the setback, the Chairman assured the people of ONELGA of his administration’s commitment to complete the project and restore the secretariat to proper working condition.

He also called on residents of the local government area to support his administration’s efforts to achieve meaningful development for the LGA.

• Okon is the Information and Public Relations Officer, ONELGA.