The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative -NEITI says it has made advanced progress in its conduct of the 2022-2023 industry reports of the oil, gas and mining sectors which is ongoing nationwide and would be ready in 5 months.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji stated this at a quarterly press briefing by the agency this Wednesday at the NEITI House, Abuja.
The NEITI Industry Reports is being conducted by two indigenous Independent Administrators. Haruna Yahaya & Co is conducting the Solid Minerals report while Adeshile Adedeji & Co is leading the conduct of the oil and gas report with a set date of September 2024 for the completion of the two reports.
Dr. Orji disclosed that NEITI has deployed its automated information-gathering infrastructure-The NEITI Audit Management System-NAMS for the conduct of the exercise to enhance data integrity and quality.
He explained that the NEITI reports are to disclose information on the regulatory framework for the sector (legal, fiscal regimes, reforms and laws addressing corruption risks; procedures for awards and transfers of licenses; production and export levels and comprehensive information on NNPC participation in the sector; all company payments and government revenues from oil and gas; revenue management, distribution, subnational transfers and revenue sustainability as well as the contribution of the oil, gas sector to the economy.
For the Solid minerals, he pointed out the areas of information disclosure to include, the regulatory framework; fiscal regime; roles of government entities and reforms; laws; and regulations relating to addressing corruption risks in the solid mineral sector. Other areas to be covered are the statutory procedures for awards and transfers of licenses and assess if these procedures are followed in practice; disclose information on property rights to mineral licenses and leases; exploration activities; mineral production levels and a valuation of extractive output, utilization and storage and report on extractive company(s) and community(s) consultation policies, laws, regulations, or contracts highlighting the ethos of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) in Nigeria.
He also pointed out that the Independent Administrators are to make observations and recommendations that would support policy making and impact Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining sectors.
The Executive Secretary also stated that NEITI has made considerable progress in addressing the remedial issues arising from the last assessment of Nigeria during validation.
According to the Executive Secretary, “Though our ranking was good, we scored 72 points over a 100, we are not resting on our oars until we achieve a near perfect score for Nigeria’s implementation of the EITI”. To this end we have developed a corrective action plan to address the gaps identified in Nigeria’s validation assessment. These corrective action plan would focus on improving Nigeria’s ranking on Stakeholders’ Engagement, which include Requirement 1.1- Government Engagement; Requirement 1.2-Company Engagement; Requirement 1.3-Civil Society Engagement; Requirement 1.4- MSG Governance; Requirement 2.2-Contracts and license allocations; Requirement 2.3- License Register and Requirement 2.4- Contracts”.
Dr. Orji assured NEITI’s stakeholders that the strategy deployed by the agency in implementing the EITI corrective actions has already started yielding positive results with the reconstitution of the NEITI Board and reinvigoration of the NEITI – Companies Forum which now has the President of the Miners Association as the Deputy Chair.
“We are not trying to create an island of excellence. We are working with our multi-stakeholders especially government to ensure the highest standard in the implementation of the initiative”, Dr. Orji reaffirmed.
The NEITI Boss commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his commitment and support to the EITI with the recent reconstitution of the NEITI NSWG that has the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume as the Chairman of the NEITI Board.
He applauded the move which he described as “unprecedented and strongest show of commitment by any administration since the inception of the NEITI”.
Dr Orji also clarified the misleading pieces of information in the media on a supposed violation of the NEITI Act.
He explained that the President appointed a 15-member Board contained in the released memo and not 16. This means no Law was violated.
He urged members of the media to always seek clarification before going to press to avoid misleading the public.
The NEITI Boss hailed the wisdom of the President for leaving vacant the position for the civil society representative awaiting the conclusion of the selection process presently ongoing for the civil society nominee.
Dr. Orji appealed to the civil society to close ranks and conclude their selection process to enable them take up their rightful position on the reconstituted Board, assuring them of NEITI’s continued support and partnership.
Other activities being rolled out by the NEITI in its implementation of the EITI in Nigeria include the hosting of the NEITI House Dialogue. The NEITI House Dialogue is a quarterly policy engagement series that will host notable policymakers who will address policy issues and reforms in the extractive sector. The maiden edition will host the NUPRC Commission Chief Executive Engr. Gbenga Komolafe on the 29th April, 2024 at the NEITI House, Abuja.
Similarly, the NEITI Inter-Ministerial Task Team-IMTT which has been reconstituted would be inaugurated on the 13th May 2024 with high-ranking officers no less than a Director, as members of the team. The IMTT comprises of key government agencies such as the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Revenue Mobilization, Allocation & Fiscal Commission (RMFAC), and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF), Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mining Cadastre Office, among others. The IMTT will implement the recommendations and findings of the NEITI’s industry reports and deepen government oversight and reforms in the extractive sector.
Another project that will be unveiled in August 2024 by the NEITI according to Dr. Orji, is the NEITI Data Center. The data center is to serve as a repository of information and data on extractive and natural resource governance.
He restated NEITI’s continued push on its engagements in the policy space with its planned research studies on the PMS consumption in Nigeria before and after subsidy removal as well as the Policy Advisory on Domestic Resource Mobilisation, both of which will commence in May, 2024.
The NEITI Executive Secretary disclosed that the NEITI Management will be proceeding on a week-long retreat to review its progress so far in implementing the above policies and programmes including the post validation corrective actions with a similar retreat planned for the new Board immediately it is inaugurated by the President. “We are taking steps to strengthen our internal operations in so many areas some of which are reviewing the NEITI Human Resource manual, NEITI Act, drafting the code of conduct policy for the Secretariat that aligns with international EITI Standard”, Dr. Orji reiterated.
The Executive Secretary hailed the NEITI multi-stakeholders for their support, and reaffirmed the commitment of the NEITI Secretariat to the EITI Standard.
OBIAGELI ONUORAH (MRS)
Deputy Director/Head Communications & Stakeholders Management