The House of Representatives has commenced an investigation into the alleged non-repatriation of Nigeria’s crude oil and non-oil export proceeds estimated 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, H Seyi Sowunmi, disclosed this on Wednesday during the committee’s inaugural press briefing at the National Assembly, Abuja.
He said recent findings 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 export proceeds.
He said this is contrary to the law mandating full repatriation of export earnings within 90 days for oil exports and 180 days for non-oil exports.
Sowunmi expressed concern over the worrisome disparity in export-earnings data reported by agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of Petroleum Resources (now NUPRC), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as well as inconsistencies between Nigerian data and those of international bodies like OPEC.
He added that non-oil exports, especially in solid minerals, also suffer from high non-compliant export earnings reports.
According to him, the Pre-shipment Inspection of Exports Act (CAP P26, LFN 2004) established the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) to prevent capital flight, ensure accurate export valuation, and safeguard foreign exchange earnings.
Before the law was enacted, he said, Nigeria suffered endemic leakages through under-valuation, delayed invoicing, price manipulation, illegal swaps, and deliberate overloading.
The committee, Sowunmi explained, will probe the exact volume and value of unrepatriated export proceeds from oil, gas, and non-oil sectors since 1996; determine reasons behind conflicting data among agencies; and engage experts for forensic reconciliation of export-proceeds accounts.
It will also investigate the management and utilisation 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. Our aim is simple: Nigeria must receive, in full and promptly, every dollar legally due from its exports.”
Sowunmi assured that the House, under Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, is fully committed to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by plugging revenue leakages and recovering lost funds for the Federation Account.
He also announced plans to utilise existing whistleblowing channels, guaranteeing confidentiality and possible financial rewards for credible information from industry players, inspection agents, bankers, and concerned citizens.
He said: “Operators must supply shipment-to-receipt trails; regulators must reconcile production, certification, and FX returns; and financial institutions must provide account-level evidence of repatriation within time.
“Where breaches are discovered, appropriate civil and criminal sanctions shall be applied.”
Sowunmi said that the probe is non-partisan and focused purely on safeguarding Nigeria’s economic integrity.
