Enugu sacks contractor over poor school construction

The Enugu State Government has terminated a contract with a construction company over structural defects at one of the Smart Green School construction sites in the state.

In a statement on Sunday by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, the defects, which included cracked walls, were identified through the government’s internal monitoring systems before a video of the site surfaced on social media.

“We wish to assure the good people of Enugu State and the general public that the said defects had already been identified through our internal monitoring systems well before the video surfaced on social media.

“The state government promptly terminated the contract and disengaged the contractor responsible for the substandard execution,” Onyia said.

According to the statement, the government had also scheduled the affected site for full remediation to meet the state’s structural and safety standards.

“The safety of our children, teachers, workers, and host communities remains our highest priority,” Onyia emphasised.

To prevent similar lapses across the 260 smart schools under construction in the state, he said the government has established a three-tiered quality control and monitoring mechanism.

These include local government engineers, the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, and the governor’s Delivery Unit, which provides high-level, independent verification of every project milestone.

“This multi-layered approach ensures that no structural flaw goes undetected and that corrective actions are taken swiftly and without compromise,” Onyia said.

“We urge the public to note that this is an isolated incident in a vast number of over 1,500 ongoing projects under Governor Peter Mbah’s administration.

“We will not relent until every smart school stands as a symbol of excellence, innovation, and integrity,” Onyia added.