By Jeff Agbodo

ABAKALIKI—The Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Service (EBSIRS) has denied awarding revenue contracts to any of Governor Francis Nwifuru’s brothers, dismissing the allegations circulating in the state.

EBSIRS Executive Chairman, Chief Christopher Omo Isu, while addressing journalists in his office, clarified that revenue contracts were awarded through a competitive bidding process to reputable companies.

He categorically stated that the board never engaged any relative of the governor as a revenue contractor or agent, emphasizing the board’s commitment to transparency.

Describing the allegations as false and politically motivated, Omo Isu said:

*”The general public and the good people of Ebonyi State are implored to disregard the report as it does not have any iota of truth. We challenge the peddlers of the fake news to come up with verifiable evidence to substantiate their allegations.

“The board, therefore, warns the purveyors of the fake news to retrace their steps in their own interest or face the wrath of the law.”*

He further explained the bidding process, stating that consultants, rather than board members, handled the selection to ensure fairness.

*”This year, 2025, we decided to bid some of the revenue contracts. And lucky enough, in our agreement, we decided to use our consultants to do the bidding, to avoid any person accusing members of the service. Lucky enough, five of them were engaged to do the job.

“They are independent people. Some of them are not from Ebonyi, while some of them are from Ebonyi State.

“And lucky enough, when the job was given to them, they decided that they must do the right thing. They started by advertising. After advertising for the bid, people rushed and applied. In fact, all these things had time limits.”*

He stressed that the selection process was strictly based on merit, with contracts awarded to the highest bidders.

“Here, we always do one thing—that the highest bidder must win. If you are interested in any of the revenue points and you bid low, whoever bids highest will be the winner. And eventually, they came out with their result, which they published. People who won started paying. Those who haven’t paid after a few weeks will have their names removed.”

Omo Isu dismissed accusations of favoritism, asserting that the board had no involvement in the selection process.

*”Surprisingly, somebody, either through social media or whatever means, started accusing the board or the service of favoring some people. I want to say it and state it clearly, that the board members were not even involved.

“Members were not involved in the selection, in the job. People from different groups, from the consultants, were involved, and they did a very good job.

“So for any person to feel that the board is favoring the governor’s brother, that person is an enemy. Because from the application, no name was written. A company, you use your company name.

“I have to say clearly that whoever is accusing the board or the service of giving jobs to the governor’s brothers, that person is an enemy. That person is an enemy of the state and an enemy of the service.

“And all the people who applied were convinced that the job was given to the highest bidder, not to the governor’s brothers.