A Vanguard investigation has uncovered an alleged multi-million-naira payment scheme within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)’s street-naming and house-numbering process, in which applicants were reportedly asked to pay large sums into private bank accounts instead of authorized government revenue accounts, despite the honour being officially presented as free.

The probe began after AMAC sent letters to Vanguard’s Editor-in-Chief, Eze Anaba, and Chairman/Publisher, Sam Amuka-Pemu, informing them of their “unanimous” selection for streets to be named after them within Abuja Municipality.

The letters, dated November 13, 2025, and signed by Peter Ijwo, Director of Operations, and Gwebe Amos, Director of Administration, stated that the nominations were based purely on merit “in recognition of outstanding contributions and commitment to society and the national economy.”

However, subsequent engagements with officials of the Street Naming and House Numbering Unit, particularly Jeffrey Iorshe, allegedly revealed that nominees were required to make substantial payments to “process” the honour. According to Vanguard’s findings, the requested sums allegedly ranged from about N5 million in Nyanya, roughly N 11 million in Lokogoma, and between N25 million and N35 million in the Central Business District (CBD).

An initial “processing” payment of N500,000 per nominee and a baseline package of N5.5 million were also allegedly demanded.

No official guidelines

Despite quoting figures, the official reportedly declined to provide any written fee schedule or approved documentation, leaving the process without publicly available guidelines or transparency.

“I can’t tell you the prices,” Iorshe initially said when asked to provide official rates.

The investigation found no official pricing templates or verifiable policy documents governing the alleged fees.

Payments routed to private accounts

At a later stage, Vanguard was allegedly given the details of a private bank account belonging to Bestemart Integrated Ventures, described as the account of AMAC’s “technical partners.”

When Vanguard’s Accounts Department declined to make payments to a private account not bearing AMAC’s name, Iorshe reportedly defended the arrangement, claiming it had been “approved” internally due to delays associated with government accounts. “If we use the AMAC account, the project won’t materialize,” he was quoted as saying, adding that using official government revenue accounts could affect access to preferred street locations.

Vanguard insisted on paying into statutory government accounts, resulting in a stalemate and the suspension of the process.

Concerns over transparency

Urban planning and governance experts warn that street naming and house numbering are critical public functions and that any system lacking published guidelines, official receipting structures and transparent payment channels is vulnerable to abuse.

Abuja residents interviewed expressed concern that such opaque practices could encourage revenue leakages and further weaken public trust in municipal administration.

As of press time, AMAC had not issued any official response to the allegations raised in the investigation. (Vanguard)

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