By BASSEY BENSON

₦10.3bn Ewet Luxury Estate: Missed Deadlines, Unanswered Procurement Questions & Eno’s Fresh Ultimatum

GOVERNOR Umo Eno has given the contractor handling Akwa Ibom’s Ewet Luxury Garden Estate another three months to finish the project.

The ultimatum follows more than two years of construction and several missed completion targets.

At least ₦10.32 billion has been budgeted for components of the Uyo development in the state’s 2025 and 2026 budgets.

Yet the 35-unit estate has not reached the handover stage.

Eno issued the latest directive after an unscheduled inspection of the project.

He ordered Western Legacy Investment Limited to accelerate construction.

The governor also directed Commissioner for Special Duties Emem Bob to ensure that 12 buildings are completed and handed over to the government every month from September.

If the contractor fails to meet the target, Eno warned that the government could terminate the contract.

The governor said he was unhappy with the pace of work.

He also noted that the project was already overdue for delivery to the people who had purchased the houses.

From Eight Months to Three Years

The project’s original timeline was far shorter.

Eno laid its foundation in July 2024 and described the estate as part of his administration’s strategy to provide housing for different income groups.

He presented the development as a business venture rather than simply a government housing scheme.

The state planned to sell the houses to buyers, including Nigerians living abroad.

At the foundation-laying ceremony, Eno said the project would take eight months.

That commitment meant the estate should have been ready around March 2025.

AKICORP later confirmed the March 2025 target.

It did not materialise.

A fresh promise followed in April 2026.

After visiting the estate for a birthday breakfast, Eno said the 35 duplexes would be ready for their owners within two months.

The contractor also reportedly received a 60-day completion directive.

Again, the deadline passed.

The government’s latest three-month ultimatum therefore represents another attempt to bring the project to completion.

What the Budget Shows

Financial records provide another dimension to the story.

Akwa Ibom allocated ₦4.434 billion in its 2025 budget for internal roads and external works at the estate.

The same budget provided ₦5 billion for 35 apartments, commercial offices and a luxury park.

In 2026, the state allocated another ₦886.18 million for the apartment complex, offices and park.

The combined provisions amount to about ₦10.32 billion.

However, budgetary provision does not necessarily mean that the entire amount has been released or paid.

That distinction matters in assessing why construction has taken longer than planned.

The state has not publicly disclosed the amount it has released for the project or the amount paid to Western Legacy Investment Limited.

Consequently, available information cannot independently establish whether delayed funding contributed to the contractor’s performance.

What Remains Inside the Estate

The development occupies about 3.5 hectares.

Plans for the estate include 35 five-bedroom detached duplexes and other supporting facilities.

These include boys’ quarters, recreational areas, walkways and parking spaces.

A 100-capacity multipurpose hall also forms part of the plan.

The project further includes office facilities, a security house and a central power plant.

Officials have described the estate as a revenue-generating investment for the state.

That commercial objective makes the delay significant.

Every missed deadline potentially postpones the point at which the government and property buyers can realise the intended benefits of the development.

The Procurement Information Gap

Questions also remain about how the contractor secured the project.

Western Legacy Investment Limited is identified in Akwa Ibom government reports as the company handling the estate.

However, publicly accessible bidding documents for the contract could not be located on the state’s procurement portal, official website or media platforms.

The available records also do not reveal key details about the bidding process.

These include the number of bidders, evaluation reports, award documents, contract value and other contractual terms.

The absence of such information does not, by itself, establish that the procurement process breached any law.

However, publishing the records would allow members of the public to examine the process and understand how the contractor emerged.

A Contractor With Other Major State Projects

Western Legacy Investment Limited is also handling the controversial Ibom Tower project in Lagos.

Akwa Ibom has made a budgetary provision of ₦41.05 billion for that development.

The company was incorporated in Nigeria on 11 July 2023, according to Corporate Affairs Commission records reviewed in the report.

That was about two months after Eno assumed office and roughly a year before the Ewet Luxury Garden foundation-laying ceremony.

The company’s involvement in multiple major projects has therefore increased public interest in the government’s contracting and disclosure practices.

Still, the available information does not establish that the company’s corporate history caused the delays at Ewet Luxury Garden.

Where Does the Delay Leave Buyers?

The estate was conceived as a commercial project, with buyers expected to purchase the completed houses.

More than two years after the foundation was laid, however, those buyers are still waiting for the promised handover.

The government has acknowledged the delay.

Eno’s latest statement that the project is “well overdue” reinforces that point.

Western Legacy Investment Limited did not provide a response to the latest concerns.

Its managing director had previously pledged that the company would complete the project within 60 days.

The latest inspection indicates that the commitment did not produce the expected result.

The Three-Month Test

The new deadline now gives the project another opportunity to move from promise to delivery.

The government expects 12 completed buildings every month from September.

If the contractor meets the target, the estate could finally move towards handover.

If it fails, Eno has threatened to terminate the contract.

Either outcome will leave important questions beyond construction.

How much has the government actually spent? How much has the contractor received? What were the terms of the contract? And why did a project originally scheduled for eight months require successive extensions?

Those questions remain unanswered in the publicly available records reviewed.

For a project backed by more than ₦10 billion in two years of budgetary provisions, the answers will be important not only for the Ewet estate but also for assessing how Akwa Ibom manages major commercial property investments.