The Ebonyi State Government has awarded a N1.428 billion contract for the supply of equipment to a basic virology research laboratory to a company incorporated barely three weeks before the bidding deadline, raising questions about the state’s public procurement process.
The contract, awarded by the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, went to Euslar Consultancy Services Limited, a firm reportedly owned by Euslar Nnenna Onu, the state’s official virologist.
An investigation by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) found that the company was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on November 17, 2025, just 11 days after the Ebonyi State Government advertised the procurement on November 6, 2025.
Records from the state’s procurement register show that the company was incorporated on the same day Onu was listed as its sole person with significant control.
By December 8, 2025, the deadline for submitting bids, Euslar Consultancy Services Limited had existed for only 21 days.
Despite its relatively recent incorporation, the company emerged as the successful bidder, beating three other competing firms, including Nkwegu Medicals Limited, which submitted a bid N252.78 million lower than its offer.
According to the state procurement register, Euslar Consultancy Services Limited submitted the second-lowest bid among the four companies that participated in the bidding process.
The procurement portal indicates that the evaluation method was based on “Price Only”, while the award criterion was the selection of the “most responsive bid”.
However, the portal does not contain the bid evaluation report or provide an explanation for selecting Euslar over Nkwegu Medicals Limited, whose offer was N252.78 million cheaper.
The absence of the evaluation report leaves questions about how the competing bids were assessed and what factors informed the final award decision.
Although Ebonyi State’s Public Procurement and Related Matters Law, 2020, does not make the lowest-priced bidder the automatic winner of a government contract, it establishes conditions that must guide the selection process.
Section 39(2) allows a procuring entity to select a bidder other than the lowest-cost bidder, provided there are legitimate grounds for the decision.
The law, however, places restrictions on how bids should be evaluated.
Section 38(1) stipulates that only the methods and criteria contained in the original procurement documents should be applied when evaluating and comparing valid bids.
Furthermore, Section 38(3) outlines the responsibilities of the Tenders Board during the evaluation process. These include making recommendations for contract awards under subsection (l) and preparing bid evaluation reports under subsection (m).
The procurement portal also indicates that post-qualification was not required for the contract.
Interestingly, its award publication records list Euslar Consultancy Services Limited as having three employees and assets valued at N0.00.
Further findings by FIJ revealed a professional connection between the reported owner of the company and Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru.
A Channels Television report published in August identified Euslar Nnenna Onu as Ebonyi State’s official virologist.
FIJ also discovered that Onu co-authored a research paper with Governor Nwifuru titled “Evaluation of IgG Antibody Response to Human Papillomavirus Vaccination among Urban and Rural Populations in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.”
The research, published in the Journal of Disease and Global Health on January 20, 2026, identifies Onu as the lead author, while Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru is listed among the co-authors.
The governor’s institutional affiliation was recorded as Ebonyi State Government, Abakaliki.
An earlier version of the research paper, uploaded online on November 7, 2025, identifies both contributors by their full names: Euslar Nnenna Onu and Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru.
The research collaboration establishes a professional relationship between the company’s reported owner and the governor, although the available findings do not independently establish that the relationship influenced the contract award.
The Ebonyi State Public Procurement and Related Matters Law, 2020, contains provisions addressing transparency, accountability and potential conflicts of interest in government procurement.
Section 68(2) states that everyone involved in public procurement, including government officials, suppliers, contractors and service providers, must conduct themselves according to the principles of honesty, accountability, transparency, fairness and equity.
Section 68(6) further requires these principles to guide the entire procurement process, particularly during the confidential and neutral evaluation of bids.
It also emphasises the need to protect the interests of all parties without favouritism and prevent circumstances that could expose public officers to undue influence or embarrassment.
More specifically, Section 68(9) requires public officers directly or indirectly involved in procurement to distance themselves from interests or relationships that could undermine the government’s best interests.
The provision also prohibits public officers from participating in commercial transactions involving government institutions where their official positions could give them or people directly connected to them an unfair financial or other advantage.
Section 68(10) equally requires anyone involved in public procurement who has or is about to enter into a business relationship capable of creating a conflict of interest to immediately declare such interests to the appropriate authorities.
The law further explains what could constitute a conflict of interest.
Under Section 68(12)(b), a conflict may arise where an individual has a direct or indirect interest in, or relationship with, a bidder, supplier, contractor or service provider that could create an opportunity for personal gain through their ability to influence official dealings.
The circumstances surrounding the N1.428 billion virology laboratory contract have therefore drawn attention to questions of procurement transparency, bid evaluation and potential conflicts of interest in Ebonyi State.
The absence of a publicly available evaluation report also leaves unanswered questions about why the state selected a company incorporated shortly before the bidding deadline over a competing bidder that submitted a significantly lower offer.
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