An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has pledged to probe and unearth alleged Nigeria’s unrepatriated 850 billion dollar oil and non-oil export proceeds between 1996 and 2014.
By EricJames Ochigbo
An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has pledged to probe and unearth alleged Nigeria’s unrepatriated 850 billion dollar oil and non-oil export proceeds between 1996 and 2014.
Chairman, Ad hoc Committee to Investigate Pre-Shipment Inspection of Exports and the Non-Repatriation of Crude Oil Proceeds, Rep. Seyi Sowunmi (LP-Lagos), made this known on Wednesday in Abuja.
Addressing newsmen at the inauguration of the committee, Sowunmi said that recent allegations suggested a significant breakdown in compliance by relevant stakeholders.
“It is alleged that operators in the oil and gas industry failed to repatriate an estimated 40 to 45 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil export proceeds, amounting to approximately 850 billion dollar between 1996 and 2014 in clear contravention of the law.
“Even more worrisome is the disparity among export-earnings data reported by government agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Department of Petroleum Resources (Now NUPRC), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the National Bureau of Statistics, as well as the inconsistencies between Nigerian and international bodies such as OPEC data.
“The non-oil export, especially solid minerals from mining activities and production and export of commodities allegedly have high non-compliant export earnings reports.
“The House of Representatives, in support of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, set up this committee to investigate the massive revenue leakage stated above.
“This committee will conduct investigative public hearings to determine the exact amount of oil, gas and non-oil export proceeds unrepatriated since 1996,” he said.
The lawmaker said that the committee would also ascertain why government agencies were in the habit of reporting conflicting export-earnings data, engage experts for forensic reconciliation of export-proceeds accounts and investigate the management and utilisation of funds under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme.
According to him, the committee will be guided strictly by evidence, data driven, transparent, and verifiable documents and not speculation.
The lawmaker said that Nigeria must receive, in full and promptly, every dollar legally due from its exports.
He, however, stated that the success of the committee would depend on the collective support of Nigerians for the benefit of the country.
“Our measure of success is not publicity, but verifiable financial recovery to the Federation Account.
“This is a whole-of-system exercise. Operators must supply shipment-to-receipt trails; regulators must reconcile production, certification, and forex returns.
“Financial institutions must provide account-level evidence of repatriation within time. Where breaches are discovered, appropriate civil and criminal sanctions shall be applied,” he said.
The chairman pledged to provide periodic factual updates and publish non-sensitive documents, where necessary.
Sowunmi urged the media to focus on verifiable progress and avoid premature figures that could mislead the public.
He said that the committee would actively utilise existing whistle-blowing channels, guaranteeing confidentiality and possible rewards for credible information from industry staff members, inspection agents, bankers and concerned citizens.