VP Shettima’s office spent ₦10m on two pressing irons, public records reveal

A review of public expenditure records has revealed a string of questionable government purchases that are raising fresh concerns about how public funds are being managed at the highest levels of Nigeria's administration.

According to findings by Sahara Reporters, details obtained from GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks government spending, show that ₦10 million was paid on June 24, 2023, through the State House Headquarters Transit Account for the supply of two industrial pressing irons for the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The payment was made to Riteddy Resources Limited. That figure works out to ₦5 million per pressing iron.

The record provided no specifications for the items purchased, no technical justification for the cost, and no explanation of what distinguishes an industrial pressing iron worth ₦5 million from one available elsewhere. Questions about procurement transparency and value for money remain unanswered.

The pressing iron purchase is not an isolated entry. A separate review of GovSpend records revealed that ₦6.8 million was spent on 20 litres of groundnut oil by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Department, with the payment recorded on May 26, 2025.

To compare, a  25-litre container of groundnut oil, larger than the quantity purchased, currently sells for between ₦52,000 and ₦96,000 in the open market. How the office arrived at ₦6.8 million for a smaller quantity remains unexplained.

On August 29, 2025, another entry on the portal shows that ₦8.6 million was paid to Diamond Seasons Nigeria Limited for staff tea covering just two months, May and June.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising finding involves the Nigerian Police Force. Under Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun, the force spent over ₦239.4 million in 2025 on food items alone, including cartons of Geisha, biscuits, Ovaltine, milk, Milo, and canned baked beans.

GovSpend, the platform through which these records were surfaced, is a civic technology tool designed to make government spending data accessible to the public.

The figures it has captured paint a picture of procurement practices that, at minimum, demand explanation, and at worst, represent exactly the kind of spending that has long fuelled public cynicism about how Nigeria's resources are managed.

None of the agencies involved has issued public statements addressing the figures.

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