St. Louis building inspector linked to $2.3M in ARPA spending resigns

The St. Louis city building inspector associated with two contractors he oversaw has submitted his resignation. Adebanjo “Banjo” Popoola officially resigned this afternoon, according to City Hall spokesman Conner Kerrigan.

Last week, SLM reported on Popoola’s connections with two firms that collectively received $2.3 million from the city. Following inquiries about these relationships on Wednesday, the city promptly initiated an investigation into Popoola.

Popoola was one of two inspectors overseeing initiatives aimed at rehabilitating distressed properties funded through the American Rescue Plan Act: The Building Stabilization Program and the Privately-owned Property Stabilization Program.

Farst Construction, which has listed Popoola’s ex-wife’s address as its business location, invoiced the city for $1 million of work related to the programs. (Joy Popoola claimed she was unaware of why the business was registered at her address and only received mail there.) Premier Finish Contractors, which received $1.3 million, has its organizer and registered agent as Popoola’s current wife, Tanya Garrett, with whom he resides in Wildwood.

Additionally, SLM has discovered that a third company benefiting from these programs may have connections to Popoola. Maxify Contractors received approximately $277,000 from city funds, based on city records. State records indicate that Godfrey Ekwenugo is registered as Maxify’s agent; he previously served as the agent for Premier Finish when Garrett first set it up (she became the agent in 2023). The exact nature of the connections between Popoola, Garrett, and Ekwenugo remains unclear. While Popoola initially denied any links to Farst, he is no longer responding to our inquiries, and neither Garrett nor Ekwenugo has commented.

Kerrigan stated that the city suspended the programs Popoola managed at the end of October, unrelated to his actions. He noted, “[For] all awarded contracts that had not yet been issued, building permits were canceled (a total of 18), and staff began (1) conducting a review of all previous contracts for compliance and (2) revamping the process for scopes of work and contractor selection to provide clearer guidelines to both contractors and property owners.”

Popoola faced complaints from several property owners involved in the initiatives he was part of in recent years, including notable figures from North City such as former aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and Brandon Bosley. Despite these issues, many regarded Popoola as a personable figure within the Building Division and respected him at the Cultural Resources Office, where he often provided testimony before the city’s Board of Historic Preservation regarding the structural integrity of buildings proposed for demolition. He indicated at a Preservation Board meeting last year that he had been employed by the city for 15 to 20 years.

In a brief phone conversation with SLM earlier this week, Popoola shared his positive outlook on the city’s development, stating: “If you’re involved in construction, you can join the city because we’re working on revitalizing it. We are seeking contractors. There are many contractors here, but we still need more.”