The Senate Committee on the South East Development Commission (SEDC) on Tuesday queried the management of the commission over its inability to account for more than N4 billion spent from its 2025 budget.
The committee issued the query when the Managing Director of the SEDC, Mark Okoye, appeared before the committee.
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Mr Okoye appeared alongside Sylvester Okonkwo, a former chief of staff to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to defend the commission’s expenditure for the year.
According to appropriation records, the SEDC received N16.6 billion for its operations in 2025.
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The committee chairman, Orji Kalu, questioned the commission’s contribution to the development of the South-east and demanded details of how its budget had been utilised.
Mr Kalu, who represents Abia North Senatorial District, asked the managing director how much remained in the commission’s account and how the funds had been spent.
“We’ll not tolerate anything, whether you’re appointed by heaven and earth. My duty is to do my duty, and we’re to do our duty as parliamentarians. I don’t care how you reached here, but the constitution has given me, all of us, a job to do, and we must guide you to do it according to the laws of Nigeria.
“The question I want to ask you is that, you receive N16.6 billion, how much is left in your account?” he asked.
In response, Mr Okoye said the commission had between N11.5 billion and N12 billion remaining in its account, indicating that more than N4 billion had been spent on operational activities.
“At the last time we checked and the last information that was given to me, the SCDC should have at least between N11.5 to N12 billion in its account,” he claimed.
However, Mr Kalu rejected the explanation, insisting that the figure did not align with the records available to the committee or with information obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He therefore demanded a detailed breakdown of the expenditure.
“In the committee, we have access to anywhere you can spend money and keep money. These people are not people you know; they’re government officials. I have spoken to the Central Bank, I can go to my office and give you documents now, and we have sent the Auditor General to audit everything you have done because I am not impressed,” he added.
Unable to provide a detailed account of the expenditure, the SEDC managing director was directed to return before the committee next Tuesday with comprehensive documentation showing how the funds had been utilised.
“We’re not satisfied with your job, this is not a job somebody that claims to be an expert like you should be doing. I’m very disappointed, and this committee is very disappointed, and we give you one week to go back and tell us the whole truth on this thing and come back to the committee because you’re wasting our time. We want to see you back next Tuesday,” Mr Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, said.
The senator also alleged that records available to the committee showed that the commission pays N153 million annually for a small office in Abuja despite maintaining its headquarters in Enugu.
“You have one little office here in Abuja and you pay N153 million, by one room. This committee knows. You’re dealing with people who have gone far than you think you can go. This is why I’m warning you people, let us not continue this joke here. I want to save you from a problem,” the senator said.
The SEDC is one of the newest regional development commissions established by the Bola Tinubu administration to address the developmental challenges facing the South-east geopolitical zone.
President Tinubu signed the South East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill into law in 2024, while the commission’s board was inaugurated in February 2025, making it less than two years old.
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The commission was created to drive infrastructure development, economic growth and social development across the five South-east states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. Its mandate includes the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructure damaged by the Nigerian civil war; tackling ecological and environmental challenges; promoting industrialisation; supporting agriculture; attracting investments; and creating employment opportunities in the region.
The establishment of the SEDC was widely welcomed by political leaders, civil society groups and stakeholders in the South-east, many of whom viewed it as a long-awaited intervention to address decades of perceived neglect, infrastructure deficits and developmental challenges in the region.
For a commission that is still in its formative years and expected to build public confidence, failure to provide clear documentation of expenditure could undermine trust among lawmakers, stakeholders, and residents of the South-east, who expect the agency to deliver tangible development projects.
It may also trigger stricter legislative oversight, audits and demands for greater financial transparency in the management of public funds.
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