Umahi Linked to ₦60.1bn in Contracts Awarded to Former Campaign Supporter
A company led by Joshua Okoro, a former supporter of David Umahi, received ₦60.1 billion in payments from the Federal Ministry of Works between 2024 and 2026, according to spending records reviewed in a recent investigation.
The company, Reinforced Global Resources Limited, received the money through 27 transactions covering several road, bridge, drainage and culvert projects.
Okoro had publicly campaigned for Umahi ahead of the 2023 general elections when Umahi was seeking to represent Ebonyi South in the Senate.
At the time, Okoro was chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Stakeholders Forum in Ebonyi State and coordinator of the Divine Mandate Students Campaign. He urged students to support Umahi, telling them to “vote wisely.”
He also told the students, “Your support and vote will be reciprocated in many ways.”
Umahi won the Ebonyi South senatorial election but later resigned from the Senate after President Bola Tinubu appointed him Minister of Works.
Company received ₦60.1bn from Works Ministry
Records from GovSpend show that Reinforced Global Resources received a total of ₦60,078,385,317.43 from the Federal Ministry of Works between 2024 and 2026.
The company’s largest payment was connected to the construction of the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Road in Ebonyi State. The project accounted for ₦30.06 billion across seven payments.
The first payment of ₦2.24 billion was made on May 23, 2024, for engineering design. Further payments followed, including advance payments made within a short period.
Another major project was the construction of the Ugep-Abaomoge-Opkosi Road across Cross River and Ebonyi states, for which the company received ₦15.72 billion through four payments.
The construction of a 23-span flyover bridge at Eke Obinagu Junction on the Enugu-Abakaliki Road also accounted for ₦8.34 billion paid in three instalments between May 2024 and February 2025.
Other payments covered culverts, drainage works and several road projects.
These included the Mpu-Uburu Road, Amasiri-Nguazu-Edda-Ohafia Road, culverts at David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, the Inkerefi-Ohazara Road and an emergency box culvert along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road.
Company had no federal contracts before 2024
Available records indicate that Reinforced Global Resources, which was incorporated in 2011, did not have federal contracts between its incorporation and 2023.
Its federal contracting activity began on April 18, 2024, about eight months after Umahi became Minister of Works.
However, the company had previously received government contracts in Ebonyi State during Umahi’s time as governor.
One of the projects was part of the $150 million Abakaliki Ring Road project in 2021. The company was listed among contractors working on sections of the project.
Reinforced Global Resources also worked on drainage and earthworks along the road leading to the School of Nursing in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area.
Company ownership and Okoro’s background
Corporate records list Joshua Okoro, Akpa Ejimkonye and Akpa Hannah as shareholders of Reinforced Global Resources.
Okoro holds 40 percent of the company, while Ejimkonye and Hannah each hold 30 percent.
Okoro began his career as a mason before becoming a contractor. He obtained a Higher National Diploma in Building Technology from Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, in 2015.
He later joined the professional body for builders in 2024.
Okoro has also held several leadership positions, including chairman of the NANS Stakeholders Forum in Ebonyi State and president of the Eminent Club of Uburu.
EFCC case involving former Umahi company
The investigation also examined the relationship between Reinforced Global Resources and Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, a company founded by Umahi before he left it in 2011.
Brass Engineering is currently involved in an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) case.
In July 2026, the EFCC arraigned Egwuche Gladys, the company’s group managing director, before the Federal High Court in Enugu on a 12-count money laundering charge.
The charges relate to 12 separate cash payments of $50,000 each, amounting to $600,000, allegedly made between March 13 and April 11, 2023.
The payments were reportedly connected to the purchase of a granite stone crushing line by a joint venture involving Patan Nigeria Limited and Reinforced Global Resources.
Court records and EFCC statements identified Reinforced Global Resources as one of the joint-venture buyers involved in the case.
Umahi was listed as one of the founders of Brass Engineering but resigned from the company in 2011.
Questions over procurement procedures
The investigation also raised questions about whether the contracts complied with Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act 2007.
Section 16 of the Act contains rules concerning transparency, competition and disclosure of financial or personal interests in public procurement.
The findings noted that Okoro’s political support for Umahi before his appointment as Minister of Works could have created a relationship that required disclosure under the procurement rules.
The Act provides that where such an interest exists, measures may include disqualification of the company or the minister recusing himself so that an independent evaluation committee can handle the procurement process.
Questions were also raised about advance payments made for the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Road project.
According to the investigation, about 42 percent of the total amount paid for the project was released in quick succession before progress certificates appeared.
The procurement rules cited in the report place a 15 percent limit on mobilisation and initial payments, subject to applicable exceptions, while also requiring safeguards such as a bank guarantee and performance certification.
Procurement expert Lukman Adefolahan said the payment pattern deserved scrutiny.
“The law says advance payment should not be beyond 15 percent,” he said, adding that repeated advance payments could amount to a violation of procurement rules.
Adefolahan also said the relationship between Umahi and Okoro should have been disclosed.
He called for greater public access to procurement information and encouraged citizens to monitor government projects and “flag any violation of our law.”
He further said, “It is high time the government needs to spend money on technology and ICT so that they can reduce human interface in our procurement.”
Ministry and company did not respond
Questions were sent to the Ministry of Works seeking clarification on how Reinforced Global Resources secured ₦60.1 billion exclusively from the ministry within two years.
The company was also contacted for information about its projects and payments.
No response was received from either the ministry or the company at the time the report was completed.
Calls to telephone numbers listed on the company’s website were also unsuccessful, while messages sent by text and WhatsApp received no response.
