The 2025 report of the Ondo State Auditor-General has raised fresh concerns over transparency and accountability in the management of billions of naira meant for development projects in the state’s oil-producing communities, after auditors revealed that the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) failed to produce contract documents for seven projects worth about N6.7 billion.
The audit finding, contained in the Auditor-General’s report for the year ended December 31, 2025, has triggered questions over whether due procurement processes were followed in awarding the multi-billion-naira contracts, particularly as independent checks by SaharaReporters uncovered that some of the beneficiary companies were only recently incorporated, while another could not be traced on official corporate records.
Under the heading, “Contract Documents Not Produced,” the Auditor-General stated: “We requested for the under listed contract documents, but the Commission is yet to oblige Audit of same.”
The inability of OSOPADEC to produce the requested records meant auditors could not verify whether the contracts complied with procurement laws, financial regulations, approved contract terms or implementation standards.
The seven contracts span security infrastructure, educational interventions and road construction across Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas.
One of the contracts was for the “Community Listing/Identification of the Mandate Area in Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State,” awarded to DD Cyrusrex Enterprise for N353,679,650.22 with a completion period of six months.
Although the audit report did not state the exact award date, SaharaReporters’ independent review of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) beneficial ownership database showed that DD Cyrusrex Enterprise was incorporated on January 16, 2025.
The incorporation date suggests the company would have been only a few months old if it received the contract during 2025. It also means the company could not have lawfully secured the contract before its registration in January 2025.
Another project queried by auditors was the “Construction of Naval Security Checkpoints with Landing Jetty at Ebighan in Ilaje LGAs,” awarded to Digma Integrated Services Limited at N1,568,169,688.62, with a completion period of 12 months.
The audit also identified the “Construction of Naval Security Checkpoints at Apata Boundary at Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State,” awarded to Jossica Solution Ltd for N944,888,835.97, also with a 12-month completion period.
According to data reviewed by SaharaReporters from the CAC beneficial ownership database, Jossica Solution Limited was only registered in July 2024, meaning the company had existed for only a relatively short period before securing the nearly N945 million contract.
Auditors further reported that OSOPADEC failed to provide records for the “Supply of 4,000 Twin Desks and Chairs to Schools in Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government of Ondo State,” awarded to Progress Woods and Metal Industries Limited for N502,148,625.00, with a six-month completion timeline.
Also listed was the “Construction of Marine Police Checkpoint on Pile at Odun Oyinbo, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State,” awarded to RJJ Technical Limited for N1,507,729,158.78.
Independent checks by SaharaReporters showed that RJJ Technical Limited was incorporated in May 2025.
The timing raises further questions about how the company satisfied procurement requirements ordinarily expected for contracts of such magnitude, including tax compliance history, technical competence and professional experience.
If the contract was awarded shortly after incorporation, the company would have been only a few months old at the time it secured the N1.5 billion project. Any award made before its incorporation would also have been impossible.
The audit report likewise identified the “Construction of Naval Security Checkpoints with Landing Jetty at Atijere in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State,” awarded to KENAX Integrated for N357,161,719.23.
The seventh contract involved the “Construction of 1 km road at Sabomi in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State,” awarded to Phenkens Nigeria Limited for N1,462,147,190.40, with an 18-month completion period.
However, SaharaReporters’ efforts to independently verify the existence of Phenkens Nigeria Limited proved unsuccessful.
Searches of the Corporate Affairs Commission’s beneficial ownership register did not produce any record of the company. Additional digital footprint checks also yielded no verifiable website or identifiable social media presence as of the time of filing this report.
The absence of contract documentation, coupled with questions surrounding some of the companies that benefited from the contracts, significantly limited the auditors’ ability to determine whether statutory procurement procedures were followed.
Contract documents ordinarily contain critical records, including procurement approvals, bidding documents, contract agreements, performance guarantees, payment schedules, project variations and completion certificates.
Without those records, auditors could not independently establish whether the contracts were properly awarded, payments were justified or the projects were executed according to approved specifications and timelines.
The latest audit findings add to previous allegations surrounding the intervention agency.
In February, SaharaReporters reported that OSOPADEC, under the leadership of Chairman Prince Otabiyi Olaleye Poroye, was facing allegations of corruption, financial mismanagement and internal discord.
The report noted that following Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa’s inauguration of the new OSOPADEC board on June 16, 2025, expectations were high that long-standing infrastructure deficits in oil-producing communities would be addressed.
Despite receiving a 2025 fiscal allocation of N33.8 billion for development projects, reports indicated that little visible progress had been recorded across the mandate areas.
SaharaReporters also reported allegations that an internal power struggle over control of the Commission’s finances had crippled decision-making and stalled development projects.
The Auditor-General’s latest findings, combined with SaharaReporters’ independent verification of the beneficiary companies, are likely to intensify scrutiny over procurement practices at OSOPADEC and fuel fresh calls for authorities to account for the management of billions of naira earmarked for development in Ondo State’s oil-producing communities.
(SaharaReporters)
