The business environment in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) is currently embroiled in a high-stakes legal and financial battle over a ₦499 million renovation project. A local contractor, Hecatobe Global Concepts, has raised serious allegations of fund diversion, intimidation, and breach of contract against the Council Chairman, Honourable Chukwu Shedrack Ogbogu.
The dispute, which peaked on Sunday, April 12, 2026, follows the Chairman’s official revocation of the contract in mid-March, citing “sabotage” by the firm. However, the contractor has now countered with a detailed breakdown of alleged financial misconduct, claiming that ₦350 million intended for the project was diverted, and that the workforce was forcibly evicted from the site by “thugs” acting under the Chairman’s supervision.
The project, valued at ₦499,848,840.35, was designed to remodel and renovate the Council Chairman’s administrative block in Omoku. According to the contractor, the agreement specified milestone-based payments, but after an initial ₦50 million in late 2024, no further funds were received for ten months.
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Despite a second ₦50 million payment in November 2025, the contractor alleges that a promised monthly disbursement of ₦72 million to offset the ₦449.8 million balance never materialized. Instead, the firm claims that the Council leadership utilized a third-party money lender to issue a ₦49.5 million payment from a non-official account, an act they describe as a “desperate attempt” to bypass formal financial scrutiny.
The contractor maintains that they achieved 90% completion on the project despite receiving only 30% of the contract sum, a feat achieved through heavy borrowing that has now accumulated significant interest. The situation took a darker turn in late February when the Chairman allegedly declared himself the “new contractor” and deployed independent artisans to finish the remaining 10% of the work.
The firm also highlighted severe operational losses, citing the theft of materials and damage to unroofed structures left exposed to the rain for six months during a prior administrative transition. This “double jeopardy” of non-payment and forced removal has left the firm facing potential bankruptcy.
As of Sunday evening, the Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications has stood by the Chairman’s decision, noting that the revocation was necessary to provide decent office space for council staff who were previously “working under trees.” Chairman Ogbogu has dismissed the contractor’s claims as “insincerity,” arguing that the delay was a deliberate attempt to cause hardship for his administration.
