In an urgent bid to strengthen fiscal accountability, the House of Representatives’ Ad-Hoc Committee on Pre-shipment Inspection and Crude Oil Proceeds has pledged to aggressively tackle revenue leakages in Nigeria’s oil exports.
According to the committee chairman, Rep. Seyi Sowunmi (LP–Lagos), Nigeria is hemorrhaging billions annually due to unverified crude shipments, under-declared exports, and the failure to repatriate proceeds. He warned that the losses are not just abstract economic figures, but translate into “lost schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and opportunities for the young.”
To build technical capacity, the committee launched a workshop in Abuja involving experts in trade compliance, financial intelligence, maritime operations, and forensic auditing. The aim is to deepen legislators’ understanding of export flows, revenue repatriation, and systemic loopholes in the oil value chain.
Sowunmi described the reform drive as a “national mission” for value recovery, where digital tracking of exports, better enforcement, and tougher legislation are part of the roadmap. “Every barrel must be accounted for, every dollar repatriated,” he stated.
The committee plans to make policy recommendations based on its findings, using both legislative tools and institutional reforms to reinforce export sector transparency.
