Senate Grills SEDC Boss Over N16.6bn ‘Inappropriate’ Spending

The Managing Director of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), Mr. Mark Okoye, came under intense scrutiny on Tuesday as the Senate Committee on the SEDC questioned the management of N16.6 billion released to the agency from the 2025 budget.

The committee, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, expressed dissatisfaction with the commission’s financial records and directed its management to provide a comprehensive account of all expenditures made from the funds received so far.

Particularly troubling to lawmakers were claims that the commission spent N153 million on the rent of a one-room liaison office in Abuja and listed another N2.5 billion as “implied expenditure” without sufficient explanation.

The Senate panel raised the issues during an investigative hearing after reviewing financial documents submitted by the commission.

Committee members faulted the report presented by the SEDC management, insisting that it failed to adequately explain how a substantial portion of the funds had been utilised.

Leading the criticism, Senator Kalu disclosed that information obtained by the committee from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that only about N13 billion remained in the commission’s account out of the N16.6 billion received in December 2025.

According to him, this suggested that approximately N3.6 billion had already been spent and must be fully accounted for.

“This committee is disappointed with the financial report presented to us. It is completely unacceptable,” Kalu declared.

Other members of the committee, including Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Victor Umeh and Austin Akobundu, also expressed reservations about the commission’s financial disclosures and demanded greater transparency.

Responding to the concerns, Okoye defended the commission’s spending decisions, maintaining that all expenditures were made prudently and in line with financial regulations.

He explained that the commission had adopted a cautious approach to project execution by ensuring that contracts were backed by actual cash releases rather than budgetary projections.

“Our approach has been to ensure that available resources are directed towards priority projects. We want allocations to guide the procurement process so that contracts awarded can be backed by available funding,” he said.

According to him, the commission was determined to avoid a situation where contracts are awarded without the financial capacity to execute them.

“Having a budget of N140 billion does not automatically mean that N140 billion in cash is available. It would be irresponsible to award contracts worth the entire budget if only N10 billion or N20 billion has actually been released. Doing so would create unfunded liabilities and a significant financial deficit,” he added.

The explanation, however, failed to convince members of the committee. Consequently, the panel directed the SEDC management to submit detailed records of all financial transactions, including contract awards, payment schedules, procurement documents and other supporting records, on or before June 23.

“By the 23rd, we want to have the complete documentation. Once we receive and review the documents, we will determine the date for your next appearance before the committee,” Kalu said.

The committee thereafter adjourned the hearing, warning that the commission would be required to fully account for every expenditure made from the funds released to it by the Federal Government.