BENDE, Nigeria — A major public accountability row has erupted in Abia State following revelations that a N265.3 million federal constituency project, tied to the territory of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, was quietly diverted away from its budgeted beneficiary and left abandoned.
The project, titled the “construction and furnishing of an ultra-modern conference and e-learning facility,” was captured as a key intervention in the 2024 Federal Government budget for Bende Federal Constituency, which Hon. Kalu represents. However, an unexpected site relocation and a complete lack of progress on the ground have sparked strong allegations of financial misappropriation.
Multi-Million Naira Payments and Diversion
Public tracking data sourced from the govspend.ng platform—a civic budget monitoring tool—revealed that the Federal Government has already disbursed N265.3 million to a private contractor, Muslac Techno Company Limited, with payments commencing as far back as December 2025.
Despite the massive financial release, administrators at Bende Secondary Grammar School—the official budgeted beneficiary—disclosed they are completely unaware of the project. Rather than building the e-learning facility on the school’s vast, available grounds, the project was diverted to an isolated location in Ọnụ Inyang along the Bende-Ohafia express road.
Abandoned Site Sparks Misappropriation Concerns
An independent site inspection at the relocated Ọnụ Inyang venue revealed zero ongoing construction. The site has been completely abandoned, with thick weeds gradually overtaking the rudimentary structures on the ground.
For a project that has received full or substantial budgetary funding for over six months, the total absence of workers and the substandard level of development have raised serious questions about the potential misappropriation of public funds.
Calls for EFCC and ICPC Investigation
Given Hon. Benjamin Kalu’s position as the political leader of the constituency, accountability advocates are publicly calling on his office to break its silence and demand answers from the implementing agency, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
Petitions are being mounted urging anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to probe Muslac Techno Company Limited. Investigators want to establish who authorized the relocation of the project and why N265.3 million in public funds yielded an abandoned foundation.
