EITI lauds Nigeria’s success in extractive industry Validation

The Global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) has applauded the successes and progress recorded by Nigerian Government to ensure that transactions in the oil and gas as well as the mining sector remain transparent.

Ina congratulatory letter signed by the Chair of global EITI and former Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt, the EITI board having x-rayed the inroads made by the country through Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) took a decision and published an EITI Validation Report on Nigeria.

Itis worth of mention that Validation is an independent evaluation mechanism used by the world body to assess the level of implementation of its principles of transparency, accountability and good governance of the extractive industry using the 2016 EITI Standard and Nigeria was first adjudged a compliant country in 2011 in Paris – France.

The letter which was addressed to the Chairman of NEITI National Stakeholder’s Working Group (NSWG) and Minister of Steel and Solid Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi and made available to the press by the NEITI Director of Communications, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, acknowledged the efforts of Nigerian in the extractive industry sector.

“After a careful review of Nigeria’s efforts and the NSWG’s comments throughout the validation process, the EITI Board has decided that Nigeria is making meaningful progress in implementing the EITI Standard.”

TheEITI boss also commended the corrective efforts of the present administration to ensure that activities in the mining sector comply with 2016 EITI standards.

He said, “The Board also acknowledges that efforts have been made to comply with all of the requirements and includes a number of corrective actions that should help Nigeria make a full transition to the EITI Standard. Nigeria has repeatedly demonstrated how the EITI process can be used to achieve important, tangible results for its citizens.”

According to the letter, part of the considerations that led to endorsement from EITI were – “Nigeria is the first country in Africa to implement the EITI, helped shape the EITI Standard, developed one of the most extensive EITI reporting processes globally.

“Nigeria’s EITI (NEITI) has gone well beyond the initial requirements of the EITI by including assessments of physical and process flows alongside the reconciliation of financial payments.

“Nigeria was also the first country to enact a legislation institutionalizing the EITIin the country and NEITI has been repeatedly recognised for its efforts at putting into effect recommendations from EITI reports leading to the recovery of more than $2.4billion for the Federal Government of Nigeria. NEITI has also increased multi-stakeholder collaboration and improved governance in the extractives sector.”

TheEITI Chair equally recommended some areas the country should improve upon with include widening the opportunities for the media and civil society participation in EITI implementation in Nigeria, strengthening the monitoring and oversight of the initiative by multi-stakeholders.

Reacting to the Validation report, the Chairman of the NEITI NSWG, and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi welcomed the EITI verdict on Nigeria, just as he expressed confidence that Nigeria will address all the corrective recommendations before the next validation exercise adding that the successes recorded in the validation report was as a result of the uncompromising commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari led government on issues of good governance, transparency and accountability.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr. Waziri Adio, also congratulated NSWG, the civil societies and the media for their support, describing the validation report as a peer review mechanism that holds all EITI implementing countries to the same standards.

“We need to get to work quickly and continue to push both ourselves and the frontiers. I am convinced that we can achieve not just Satisfactory Progress (which no EITI-implementing country undergoing validation has achieved so far), but we can also go Beyond the EITI requirements” Adio said.

The next Validation exercise is scheduled to hold on the 11th July 2018 and Nigeria hopes to improve on its present ranking.