Senate Grills SEDC Over N3.6 Billion in Unaccounted Spending

The Nigerian Senate is demanding answers, and the South East Development Commission has until June 23 to provide them.

The Senate Committee on South East Development Commission held an investigative hearing this week, pressing the agency's leadership over how billions of naira released under the 2025 budget have been spent. What emerged from the session raised enough red flags that lawmakers refused to accept the commission's explanations and ordered a full documentary submission before any further proceedings.

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the committee's chairman, set the tone early in the hearing by presenting figures obtained directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

"Records obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria indicated that the commission received N16.6 billion in budgetary releases. However, only N13 billion remains in its accounts, suggesting that about N3.6 billion has already been spent," he stated.

That N3.6 billion gap is what the SEDC Senate investigation is now focused on. And within that gap, two specific line items drew particularly sharp scrutiny from committee members:

• N2.5 billion listed as implied expenditure, with no clear breakdown provided
• An alleged N153 million payment for renting a single liaison office in Abuja

The Abuja office payment attracted visible disbelief in the chamber. A N153 million rent figure for what has been described as a one-room office is the kind of expenditure that tends to define public perception of how government agencies handle public funds, and lawmakers did not let it pass without challenge.

SEDC Managing Director Mark Okoye appeared before the committee and defended the commission's spending record. His argument was that all expenditures were made carefully and in line with actual cash releases, specifically to avoid the accumulation of unfunded obligations.

It is not an unreasonable defence on its face. Nigerian government agencies have historically been criticized for spending ahead of releases, creating liabilities that then require bailouts. Okoye's framing was essentially that the commission spent responsibly within what it actually received.

But lawmakers were not persuaded, and the reason is straightforward: defending the principle of cash-backed spending is different from explaining what the cash was actually spent on. The committee's problem was not the philosophy. It was the documentation, or the lack of it.

Senator Kalu characterized the commission's financial report as inadequate. Multiple committee members echoed that assessment, demanding greater transparency and more detailed records before the hearing could progress meaningfully.

The committee did not close the matter at this hearing. It set a clear deadline and a clear deliverable.

The SEDC has been given until June 23, 2025, to submit:

• Thorough records of all contracts issued
• Full documentation of all payments made
• Supporting evidence for every expenditure item under review

Once those records are received and assessed, the commission will be invited for a second appearance before the committee. The tone of that second hearing will likely depend heavily on the quality and completeness of what is submitted.

The SEDC Senate investigation into the 2025 budget is part of a broader pattern of legislative scrutiny that the National Assembly has been applying to government agencies in recent months. Whether that scrutiny produces genuine accountability or settles into the familiar rhythm of hearings without consequences is a question Nigerians in the South East, who this commission exists to serve, have a particular stake in answering.

The South East Development Commission was established to address the developmental gaps that have persisted across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. Funds meant for that mandate have a direct human cost when they are mismanaged or misreported.

The June 23 deadline will be a telling moment.