EITI Assessors Laud NEITI, Urge Sustainable Transparency Reforms

BY NSE ANTHONY-UKO AND MIRACLE MODILI, Abuja

The global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has lauded the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for improvements in its disclosure practices, even as it urged the country to sustain the momentum by institutionalising systematic, real-time transparency in its extractive sector.

This was contained in a statement issued at the weekend by NEITI’s director, Communications & Stakeholders Management, Obiageli Onuorah, who confirmed the outcome of the mission’s debriefing session with the agency’s senior management team at the close of a five-day in-country Validation Mission, part of Nigeria’s ongoing 2026 EITI Validation Exercise.

The mission, led by Mr Riley Zecca, and comprising Ms Jessica Sanchez and Mr Gilbert Makore, EITI’s African country director, commended NEITI’s well-coordinated stakeholder consultations, which it said had clearly captured Nigeria’s unique context through a series of high-level engagements, including an executive session with the National Assembly and a public hearing on NEITI’s industry reports.

Speaking after the mission, Zecca commended the breadth and quality of stakeholder input gathered during the exercise but stressed that commendation alone was not the point.

He urged Nigeria to institutionalise its improved systematic disclosure practices to support real-time transparency, stressing the importance of timely, accessible data publication in strengthening accountability and public trust in the extractive sector.

He noted that the consistency of disclosures had improved access to information and given the Mission confidence in assessing the country’s progress.

On the next steps, Zecca disclosed that a draft validation report would be forwarded to the NEITI Board within three weeks, after which Nigeria would have a month to respond.

The final validation report, he added, will be presented at the EITI global conference in Brussels in October.

EITI’s Africa country director, Gilbert Makore, reinforced the call for sustained momentum, urging Nigeria to view the validation process positively and describing it as the backbone of EITI implementation rather than a mere compliance exercise.

He singled out the involvement of Nigeria’s National Assembly for particular praise, describing it as unique and innovative.

According to Makore, the executive session with the National Assembly and the public hearing on NEITI’s industry reports — which drew participation from both companies and government agencies — demonstrated Nigeria’s commitment to open and inclusive dialogue.

Reacting to the Mission’s conclusions, NEITI’s executive secretary, Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, described the outcome as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s validation journey.

He stressed that the exercise was more than a compliance check, describing it instead as an opportunity to reflect on achievements, address outstanding challenges, and accelerate reforms in the country’s natural resource governance.

Adar said the validation process had provided a platform for Nigeria to showcase progress in implementing the EITI Standard while engaging constructively with stakeholders and the EITI International Secretariat.

He reaffirmed NEITI’s commitment to working with government institutions, companies, civil society groups, and host communities to ensure the Mission’s findings translate into meaningful and sustained reforms — a direct response to the assessors’ call to keep the momentum going.

The Mission’s five-day itinerary featured an extensive round of engagements with senior government and industry figures, including the secretary to the government of the federation and chairman of the NEITI Board, Senator George Akume; the minister of state for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite; and the group chief executive of officer of NNPC Limited, Bayo Ojulari.

Assessors also met with relevant National Assembly committees, led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, as well as key anti-corruption and governance institutions, including the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the National Human Rights Commission, and the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms.

Discussions with NNPC Limited centred on the company’s role as an EITI supporting company, its anti-corruption policies, systematic disclosure practices, contract transparency, and commodity trading transparency.

On the civil society front, consultations brought together representatives of the NEITI Civil Society Steering Committee, the Civil Society Strategic Think Tank, and the Civil Society Selection Committee, as well as representatives from wider civil society organisations and host communities from Rivers and Zamfara States.

Nigeria’s 2026 EITI Validation Exercise formally commenced on 1 July 2026, following the country’s submission of validation templates covering transparency, stakeholder engagement, and outcomes and impact. The Mission’s in-country consultations, which ran from 10 to 14 August 2026, are expected to provide NEITI with detailed, actionable insights into the country’s progress and opportunities for deeper implementation of the EITI Standard.

With the draft validation report expected before the NEITI Board within three weeks and a month-long response window to follow, attention now turns to Brussels in October, where the final validation report will be formally presented at the EITI global conference — and where Nigeria’s ability to sustain the reforms assessors commended will likely come under fresh scrutiny.