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EXCLUSIVE: Ebonyi Governor Nwifuru Awards N3.1Billion Contracts To Wife’s Brother Via Newly Registered Company, Two Contracts Bypassed Competitive Bidding
Between July 2024 and May 2025, the newly registered firm secured three separate contracts totalling over N3 billion from the state government.
An investigation by SaharaReporters has uncovered that Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, awarded contracts worth N3.1 billion to his brother-in-law, Nwode Chidi Henry, through a company registered a little over two years ago.
The company, HC Carter Ventures Ltd, was incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission on April 25, 2023, just a month before the end of the previous administration in Ebonyi State.
Between July 2024 and May 2025, the newly registered firm secured three separate contracts totalling over N3 billion from the state government.
One of the contracts, awarded on July 25, 2024, was valued at N400 million and involved the construction of a two-kilometre stretch of road from Ngamgbo Elom Note to Onu UIO Akpu Junction in the Mkpoke community, Ikwo Local Government Area.
On October 7, 2024, HC Carter Ventures was awarded a contract valued at N172 million for the construction of a 12-classroom storey building at Community Secondary School, Ojiegbe Nkaliki.
Further records reveal that on May 6, 2025, the company received another contract worth N2.541 billion for the construction of a 5,000-meter concrete rigid pavement (Phase 2) along the TTC–Iboko Road in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Altogether, the three contracts awarded to HC Carter Ventures within two years of its registration total N3.113 billion.
A SaharaReporters review of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) database shows that the person with significant control of the company is Nwode Chidi Henry, whose listed address is located within government quarters in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
Further investigation using network analysis confirms that Nwode is the younger brother of Ebonyi State First Lady, Mary-Maudline Nwifuru.
On February 23, Mary-Maudline celebrated Nwode’s birthday in a post on her Instagram page, which has 6,139 followers. In her message, she described him as her “kid brother,” writing: “Cheers to a fantastic year ahead. Best wishes from your big sister and lots of love from my family.”
In a Facebook post published in December 2024, the lawmaker representing Ebonyi North East constituency in the State House of Assembly, Chinyere Nwogbaga, stated that she attended the wedding ceremony of “Mr. Henry Chidi Nwode — younger brother to Her Excellency, wife of the Governor of Ebonyi State.”
Further examination of records from the Ebonyi State Open Contracting Portal reveals that two of the three contracts awarded to Mr. Nwode’s company, HC Carter Ventures Ltd, were executed through a non-competitive process, with the company listed as the sole bidder. These two contracts were collectively valued at N572 million.
Only the third contract, awarded at a much higher sum of N2.541 billion, reportedly involved two additional contenders.
This process raises questions of compliance, as Section 21 of the Ebonyi State Public Procurement Law (2020) mandates that contracts be awarded through open competitive bidding “in a manner which is transparent, timely and equitable for ensuring accountability.”
It further states that contracts should be awarded in a manner that promotes “competition, economy and efficiency.”
SaharaReporters also conducted a digital footprint analysis of HC Carter Ventures but found no trace of the company online. The firm has no known website, and similar names found during the search were linked to entities registered in foreign countries.
Searches on major social media platforms — including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram — also returned no results associated with the company.
At the time of filing this report, HC Carter Ventures was listed as inactive on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) portal.
When contacted for comments, Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, told SaharaReporters there was nothing improper about awarding contracts to the First Lady’s younger brother.
“There is nothing wrong with the younger brother of the first lady getting contracts; he is a citizen of Nigeria. Ebonyi has been given a clean bill of health by reputable organisations for its procurement methods,” he told SaharaReporters.
He further argued that the processes of awarding contracts deployed by the state are transparent.
“We do e-procurement and it is transparent,” he said.
News
Man in shock after lady he lodged with in a hotel in Abuja flees with his car and other valuables
A Nigerian man is currently in shock after a young lady identified as Precious Chinyere , whom he took to a hotel in the Asokoro area in the FCT for a romantic getaway allegedly fled with his car and other personal belongings on Thursday, February 5,
The distraught man and Precious had visited the hotel and opted for a short time stay. Things took a different in the evening when the man noticed Precious had left the hotel room without notifying him and took along with her some of his personal belongings including phones and laptop and also his car.
The victim immediately reported the incident to the police.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the FCT police command, SP Josephine Adeh, told LIB that the matter is currently being investigated and that efforts are being made to apprehend the suspect.
The United States Mission in Nigeria has condemned the k!lling of more than 200 civilians in recent attacks on communities in Kwara State.
Recall that terrorists launched de@dly attacks on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday night, k!lling unsuspecting citizens.
It was gathered that the gunmen invaded the villages, opened fire on residents and burned homes.
According to reports, the de@th toll from the unfortunate incident hit 200 on Thursday night.
Reacting, the US Mission Nigeria condemned the k!lling via a post on its official X handle.
The post reads, “The United States condemns the horrific attack in Kwara state in Nigeria, which claimed the lives of more than 160 people, with the de@th toll still unconfirmed and many still unaccounted for.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families of those affected by this senseless violence.
“We welcome President Tinubu’s order to deploy security forces to protect villages in the area and his directive to federal and state officials to provide aid to the community and bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice.”
News
“I’ll never settle for a barber, yahoo boy or a poor man” — nail tech’s list of men she says she can’t marry sparks reactions online
A Nigerian nail technician has set social media talking after openly listing the kind of men she says she can never settle for.
In a now-viral post, she stated clearly that she refuses to “settle for less” and went on to mention professions and traits she considers a no-go area.
According to her, she can never settle for a barber, an aza man, a yahoo boy, a mechanic, an actor, a laundry man, a hype man, or a plumber. She also added that she wouldn’t marry a man with a high body count or a poor man.
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