TheCable

OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative (OAI) has asked the federal government to hasten the constitution of the national stakeholders working group (NSWG) of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for increased transparency in the extractive sector.

In a recent statement signed by Oke Epia, OAI’s executive director, the organisation also called for improved use of NEITI reports by civic actors.

The agency’s position follows NEITI’s 52.5 points recorded on stakeholders’ engagements in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) assessment.

EITI had said Nigeria may be suspended if it fails to meet requirements for validation commencing January 1, 2026.

Commenting on the report, OAI said despite the downsides, NEITI recording a score of 92 points on outcomes and impacts shows the agency’s hard work in promoting openness, accountability and civic enlightenment in the country’s extractive industries.

“However, OAI notes that the 52.5 points recorded on stakeholders’ engagements in the assessment calls for improved use of NEITI reports by civic actors and the general public,” the statement reads.

“We, therefore, use this medium to enjoin the President Bola Tinubu administration to make haste the constitution of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of NEITI so as to galvanize uptake of plans and activities by the management of the agency to keep raising the bar of transparency and accountability in the petroleum, and solid mineral sectors of the country”.

“In that way, Nigeria can improve on her current score of 71.5 on implementing transparency driven reforms in the extractive industry by the next assessment due in 2026.”

According to OAI, NEITI’s inclusion in the 11-month evaluation is a noteworthy example of the organisation’s steadfast dedication to promoting transparency and accountability within the extractive industries.

The organisation also commended Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, NEITI’s executive secretary, the management team and the staff of the agency for the achievement.

“We urge them to scale up engagements with civil society actors making an impact in the extractive space, especially with respect to dissemination and making use of NEITI reports to mount needed public pressure on political authorities, regulators and indeed all entities (private and public) in the extractive sector to implement recommendations contained in its annual audits and other specialized publications,” OAI said.

Being a key partner with NEITI, OrderPaper said it would continue to deploy its reconditioned RemTrack platform to promote citizen engagement and the distribution of audits and publications, including at the grassroots level.