ENUGU — The Enugu State Government has strongly condemned and rebutted what it described as “malicious allegations” of land grabbing against its officials by Sahara Reporters.
In a statement on Thursday, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo, said a diligent inquiry could have laid the facts bare on the July 14, 2026 report relating to the New Enugu Smart City and Coal City Eastern Alliance Estate.
Officials Are Nominal Shareholders In SPVs
The contentious report had named the current Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia; former Commissioner for Housing, Dr. Martins Chukwunweike; former General Manager of Enugu State Housing Development Corporation, Mr. Gerald Asogwa; and a former Legal Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Osinachi Nnajieze, as beneficial shareholders in Coal City Eastern Alliance Limited.
It alleged that the state government acquired community and individuals’ lands and transferred same to the company, which it described as a private firm.
However, Dr. Agbo absolved the government and its officials of any wrongdoing, noting that the named entities were Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), an international best practice for floating corporate entities to protect government’s interests.
He said both the former and present government officials named were nominal shareholders and directors, who are on the boards of the said Enugu State-owned companies solely as trustees of the people’s interests in the special projects, in line with the law.
“The motive of the story is betrayed by the writer’s intentional avoidance of evidence and facts, which would have cast doubt on the headlines and negated the conclusions reached by the report,” Agbo said.
‘No Board Member Benefited A Kobo’
“For example, while the story pretends that Enugu State government officials who were on the board of these SPVs were land grabbers and beneficiaries of the assets of the company, the report turns a blind eye to the fact that the board members did not benefit a kobo from the company.
“Not even a sitting allowance was paid to any of the board members during their time on the board of these SPVs,” he stated.
The Commissioner added that officials of previous administrations also served in the same capacity on the boards, and their positions terminated at the end of the administration that appointed them.
“For example, the story falsely alleges that the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) owns 30 per cent of the government company.
“But common sense tells us that since the SSG and other officials mentioned in the malicious report occupy exactly the same positions in the state-owned entities as their predecessors, there would have been no assets or shares left to be transferred to them when they were appointed by the present administration to take over the running of the SPVs if the assets or shares were eligible to them personally.
“So, for emphasis, the current Board members of these state-owned SPVs are nominal shareholders and directors, who are on the Board for the sole purpose of representing state interests in the SPV,” the statement read in part.
Govt Faults Report On SPV Operations
The government also faulted other aspects of the report, saying it portrays the publication as either wilfully pernicious or ignorant of how SPVs are utilised by state and private entities in floating, delivering, vesting, and protecting government interests and assets in public and private ventures.
It maintained that the New Enugu Smart City and Coal City Eastern Alliance remain state-driven projects aimed at expanding housing, infrastructure and investment in Enugu.
