The Senate has placed the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the South East Development Commission, Mark Okoye, under scrutiny over the management of funds released to the commission from its 2025 budget allocation.
The Senate Committee on South East Development Commission, chaired by Orji Uzor Kalu, raised concerns during an investigative hearing over expenditures made from the N16.6 billion released to the commission.
During the session, lawmakers questioned the expenditure profile presented by the commission, including an alleged N153 million spent on renting a one-room liaison office in Abuja despite the commission’s corporate headquarters being located in Enugu.
The committee also raised concerns over what it described as N2.5 billion in implied expenditure contained in the commission’s financial report.
The scrutiny followed a review of financial records submitted by the commission to the committee as part of its oversight responsibilities.
Members of the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the report, insisting that the commission must provide a detailed account of how funds released so far had been spent.
Speaking during the hearing, Kalu said information available to the committee indicated that the commission had received N16.6 billion in December last year and that only about N13 billion remained in its account.
According to him, this suggests that approximately N3.6 billion had been expended and must be fully accounted for.
“This committee is disappointed with the financial report presented. It is completely unacceptable,” Kalu said.
Other committee members, including Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Victor Umeh and Austin Akobundu, also expressed concerns over the report submitted by the commission.
The hearing was thereafter adjourned, with the committee reiterating its expectation that all requested documents would be submitted within the stipulated timeframe.