Senate Catches SEDC MD Okoye With N3.5 Billion Spent In Six Months

The Senate Committee on the South East Development Commission has publicly accused the Managing Director, Mark Okoye, of incompetence and financial mismanagement. This happened last Tuesday when Okoye appeared before the committee to account for the N16.6 billion the federal government released six months ago for the commission to start operations. Chairman Orji Uzor Kalu said he was "highly disappointed" with Okoye's report, noting it did not match the figures the committee had already obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry of Finance.

According to Kalu, the CBN records show the SEDC still has about N13 billion in its account, but Okoye claimed the figure was N11 or N12 billion. The real problem is how the commission managed to spend approximately N3.5 billion in just six months with nothing concrete to show for it. Kalu specifically called out the N153 million paid for what he described as a "one-room office" in Abuja. The SEDC later clarified that this is actually a lease agreement for a liaison office at 70 Mississippi Street, Maitama, covering the basement, ground floor, and boardroom, and it has been running since February 2025.

In his defence, Okoye insisted every expenditure was lawful and directed at priority projects, saying they wanted to avoid awarding contracts without the financial capacity to execute them. But the committee gave him just one week to reorganise his report and present it again, rejecting his plea for more time. The SEDC has promised to provide all records by June 23, including contract details and payment schedules. The question now is simple: if the CBN knows exactly what the commission has, and the Senate can cross-check everything, why is there a N1 billion discrepancy in what Okoye reported versus what the bank says? Who is hiding what?