The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating pre-shipment inspection of exports and the non-remittance of crude oil proceeds has directed key government agencies and a private sector body to submit comprehensive records relevant to its probe.
The Chairman of the Committee, Seyi Sowunmi (LP, Lagos), issued the directive on Wednesday at its resumed investigative hearing at the National Assembly, following the submissions by representatives of the agencies before the Committee.
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Mr Sowunmi described their submissions as incomplete and outdated.
Those directed to furnish the committee with detailed documentation are the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
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The committee said it would formally communicate new dates for the agencies to reappear and provide the requested documents.
Agencies outline roles
Earlier, representatives of the agencies explained their respective statutory responsibilities in the export chain, covering both oil and non-oil shipments.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller-General Caroline Diagwan told the panel that the Service operates strictly within the provisions of its enabling Act and other extant laws.
She explained that for food and other exports, the Service processes the Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) form, certificate of inspection and export permits. According to her, Customs officers verify that the documentation matches the goods physically presented at export points.
“Our role as regards export of food is we get what we call NXP, and then a certificate of inspection, as well as an export permit. We now make sure that those documents tally with what has been exported at the point of export. So we do examination as well as physicalization of food,” she said.
According to her, the Service conducts examinations and physical inspections to ensure consistency between export documents issued through the Central Bank platform and the export permit issued by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), particularly for oil-related shipments.
Ms Diagwan stressed that Customs does not collect export duties and is not responsible for tracking payments made to the government from such exports.
She added that export operations are supervised at designated terminals, including the Oil and Gas Command in Port Harcourt and other commands covering Edo and Delta areas, with monthly operational returns submitted to headquarters.
On its part, the Central Bank said it serves as the coordinating hub for export documentation through its digital platforms.
A director at the bank, Musa Nakurji, who represented the Governor, Yemi Cardoso, clarified that under the Pre-shipment Inspection Act of 1992, the Central Bank handles the administrative framework but does not appoint pre-shipment inspection agents.
He explained that the NXP process is automated and initiated by the exporter’s commercial bank through the Bank’s trade monitoring system. Customs, he said, accesses the relevant data electronically.
“So in the Central Bank, we have the trade monetary system. This happens in the trade monetary system and the SVP. So from the bank, the commercial bank of the exporter, they open the form NXP,” he said.
Mr Nakurji further stated that once goods are inspected by accredited pre-shipment agents for quantity, quality and value, a Clean Certificate of Inspection (CCI) is issued before export proceeds.
NPA, represented by its General Manager, Tariff Lukman, told the committee that its stations appointed agents at export terminals to monitor activities and relay information to the Authority.
He said the agency works in collaboration with other government bodies within clearly defined jurisdictional limits at the ports.
For its part, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture said it plays no role in crude oil exports. A director of the association, Emmanuel Akeh, explained that the body issues certificates of origin for non-oil exports to authenticate the source and originality of goods destined for foreign markets.
Committee insists on accountability
In his remarks, Mr Sowunmi said the investigation was aimed at plugging revenue leakages and ensuring that all export proceeds due to the federation are fully accounted for.
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He said the probe aligns with the administration’s broader objective of improving revenue transparency and strengthening fiscal accountability.
He said, “Part of the problems Mr President is trying to cure is that we should account for everything that accrues to the nation. And that is what this committee seeks to achieve.”
Mr Sowunmi directed that all agencies must, at their next appearance, submit comprehensive and up-to-date records as requested by the committee.
He also ruled that any official appearing on behalf of the head of an agency must present a formal letter of authorisation empowering them to represent and speak for their institution.
The committee is expected to reconvene on a date to be communicated to the affected organisations.
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