A Senate committee has raised concerns over the Investments and Securities Tribunal’s spending priorities, after discovering that the agency used N16 million on cleaning and fumigation services in a single year.

The issue came to light when the tribunal’s chairman, Aminu Junaidu, appeared before the Senate Committee on Capital Market to defend the tribunal’s 2026 budget proposal. Lawmakers scrutinised the tribunal’s 2025 budget performance, focusing on recurrent costs they described as disproportionate and poorly justified.

According to documents submitted to the committee, the tribunal spent N16 million on cleaning and fumigation out of the N30 million approved for that purpose in 2025. Junaidu told senators that the fumigation is carried out quarterly to protect sensitive case files and records from rodents, and that cleaning services are outsourced across the tribunal’s zonal offices.

The performance report also showed that the tribunal spent N6.13 million on office stationery and computer consumables. Junaidu defended the figure, arguing that the tribunal’s work is document-intensive, particularly in the preparation of rulings, judgments and Certified True Copies for litigants and other applicants.

He noted that while applicants pay for certified copies, the revenue is paid directly into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account and does not offset the tribunal’s running costs.

However, some senators questioned why the tribunal still relies heavily on paper-based processes. Senator Ogoshi Onawo criticised the continued high expenditure on stationery at a time when government institutions are expected to embrace digital operations to cut costs and improve efficiency.

Further figures in the tribunal’s 2025 expenditure profile raised additional questions. The document listed N29 million for local travel, transport and training, N39 million for generator fuel, and N3.4 million for vehicle maintenance. It also reflected substantial allocations for electricity, telephone and internet access charges.

Committee chairman Senator Osita Izunaso pressed Junaidu to justify what he described as a significant outlay on cleaning and fumigation, especially when key functions such as public enlightenment received minimal funding. He pointed out that public awareness of the tribunal’s role in resolving capital market disputes remains low, despite its mandate to provide speedy and specialised adjudication for investors and market operators.

The committee is expected to continue its scrutiny of the tribunal’s accounts as part of wider efforts to curb waste and improve transparency in the management of public funds across federal agencies.