Reps Probe $850bn Unremitted Oil, Non-Oil Export Proceeds
The House of Representatives has launched an investigation into the alleged non-repatriation of Nigeria’s crude oil and non-oil export proceeds valued at over $850 billion between 1996 and 2014.
Chairman of the House Ad-Hoc Committee on Pre-Shipment Inspection of Exports and Non-Repatriation of Crude Oil Proceeds, Hon. ‘Seyi Sowunmi, disclosed this on Wednesday during the Committee’s inaugural press briefing at the National Assembly, Abuja.
He said recent allegations suggest a significant breakdown in compliance with the Pre-shipment Inspection of Exports Act, with operators in the oil and gas sector reportedly failing to repatriate between 40 and 45 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil and non oil export proceeds, contrary to the law which mandates full repatriation of export earnings within 90 days for oil exports and 180 days for non-oil exports.
Sowunmi also expressed concern over the “worrisome disparity” in export-earnings data reported by government agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of Petroleum Resources (now NUPRC), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as well as inconsistencies between Nigerian data and that of international bodies like OPEC.
He added that non-oil exports, especially those involving solid minerals and other commodities, have also been marked by “high non-compliant export earnings reports.”
According to him, the Pre-shipment Inspection of Exports Act (CAP P26, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004) established the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) to prevent capital flight, ensure accurate export valuation, and safeguard Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
Before the Act was enacted in 1996, he said, the country suffered from “endemic leakages in the form of under-valuation, delayed invoicing, price manipulation, illegal swaps, and deliberate over-loading.”
The Committee, he explained, will probe the exact volume and value of unrepatriated export proceeds from oil, gas, and non-oil sectors since 1996; determine why government agencies produce conflicting export data, and engage experts for a forensic reconciliation of export-proceeds accounts.
It will also investigate the management and utilization of funds under the NESS.
“This Committee will be guided strictly by evidence, not speculation. Our work will be document-based, data-driven, transparent, and verifiable,” Sowunmi said.
“Our aim is simple: Nigeria must receive, in full and promptly, every dollar legally due from its exports,” he added.
He assured that the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, is fully committed to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by blocking revenue leakages and recovering lost funds for the Federation Account.
Sowunmi further announced that the Committee will actively utilise existing whistleblowing channels extracting credible information.
He called for the cooperation of all stakeholders including oil operators, regulators, financial institutions, and exporters, emphasising that the investigation is a “whole-of-system exercise.”