By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has flagged inconsistencies in the reported volume of sugar imported into Nigeria and the revenue linked to the National Sugar Development Council during an ongoing review of government earnings.
The concern emerged during the House Committee on Finance revenue monitoring exercise covering the 2023–2025 fiscal years.
The session brought the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, Kamar Bakrin, before lawmakers to clarify issues surrounding sugar importation and the sector’s financial contributions to government coffers.
Leading the inquiry, the Chairman House Committee on Finance, Rep. James Faleke, questioned the reliability of the import figures presented by the council. Lawmakers indicated that the data submitted might not accurately reflect the real quantity of sugar entering the country.
In response, the Executive Secretary of the council, Bakrin explained that it does not directly collect revenue from sugar imports. Instead, the responsibility for collecting the statutory sugar levy rests with the Nigeria Customs Service at the nation’s ports, after which the funds are transferred into designated government accounts.
He also clarified that the council’s involvement in the importation process is largely regulatory. Companies seeking to bring raw sugar into the country are required to obtain import licences, which are issued based on recommendations from the council after evaluating the compliance and performance of operators and processors within the industry.
“These recommendations are subsequently forwarded through the supervising ministry for final approval by the President.
“Within the review period, approvals were granted for the importation of about two million metric tonnes of raw sugar”, he said.
The ES further explained that its activities are funded mainly through a portion of the sugar levy collected by the Nigeria Customs Service. Releases for its operations are made periodically by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in line with appropriations approved by the National Assembly.
“To finance its programmes and sector development initiatives, the council typically submits quarterly requests to the Accountant General’s office for the release of funds allocated to it”, he added..
However, the committee chairman maintained that the council must establish a more reliable mechanism for verifying the actual volume of sugar imported into the country.
According to him, “relying solely on figures supplied by the Nigeria Customs Service may lead to discrepancies and could ultimately affect the accuracy of government revenue records”.
Faleke cautioned that the data currently available to the council appears to underestimate the true quantity of sugar entering the Nigerian market, raising concerns about potential revenue leakages.
He therefore urged the NSDC to strengthen its monitoring and reconciliation framework with relevant agencies, particularly the Nigeria Customs Service, to ensure accurate data management and greater transparency within the sector.
The chairman stressed that proper tracking of imports is critical for effective revenue generation and accountability.
Meanwhile, the committee also directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to provide detailed information on Nigeria’s oil assets and equity participation in oil wells across the country.
Faleke specifically instructed the organisation’s Financial Controller, Tajudeen Karim, to submit a comprehensive breakdown of all oil wells in which Nigeria has equity participation.
The committee requested a detailed list indicating the ownership structure of the wells, including those operating under Joint Venture (JV) arrangements, Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), and wholly owned assets.
According to Faleke, the information should also include production volumes from each well and the corresponding share accruing to Nigeria under the applicable agreements.
“They do that under certain laws or agreements which they sign with you. In some cases we have percentage shareholding 60/40, 50/50 and there are wells that are 100 per cent owned. You have to identify them separately,” Faleke said.
He added that once the committee receives the full list of oil wells and their shareholding structures, the NNPCL would be required to present production data alongside Nigeria’s equity share in line with the contractual agreements governing each asset.
Faleke further directed that all the requested information must be properly reflected in supporting documents submitted to the committee to enable effective verification.
The committee stated that the ongoing exercise forms part of the National Assembly’s oversight responsibility to ensure transparency, accountability, and proper remittance of revenues by government agencies into the Federation Account.