Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Nigeria yesterday scaled through the final global assessment of the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the country.
The result of the assessment was announced by the international board of the EITI at its 58th board meeting coordinated from the international headquarters in Oslo, Norway and presided over by the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark.
Nigeria recorded an overall score of 72 points in the international assessment which lasted over a period of 11 months.
The country was assessed on three major thematic areas of transparency, stakeholders’ engagement and outcomes and impacts, according to a statement signed by the Deputy Director/Head Communications & Stakeholders Management of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Obiageli Onuorah.
In the three major areas, Nigeria recorded her highest score of 92 points on outcomes and impacts, 71.5 points on implementing transparency driven reforms in the extractive industry and 52.5 points on stakeholders’ engagements.
In arriving at the decision for Nigeria’s rating of 72 points over 100, the board particularly noted NEITI’s effective implementation of EITI in the country with “visible and tangible impacts on extractive industry governance”.
The international board noted that the score of 92 points recorded in the area of outcomes and impacts reflected what the global EITI calls “NEITI’s robust system for developing work plans for implementation, monitoring and evaluation, dissemination and outreach.”
The 20-member board chaired by the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Clark, applauded the “visible and tangible” impacts of NEITI in leading extractive industry reforms and governance in the oil, gas and mining sectors.
The global board added that data integrity and access as contained in NEITI’s reports also recorded 90 points which reflected that information and data from NEITI reports are not only credible but globally acknowledged to be comprehensive.
Reacting to the global assessment report, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji said that NEITI remains fully committed to outcomes and impacts that translate to visible results that shape the ongoing reforms which will guarantee more revenues for government through the blocking of leakages to improve the lives of Nigerians.
“As an agency, NEITI expected a higher overall score for Nigeria given government’s support, stakeholders’ collaboration, the quantum and quality of work that NEITI has put in on behalf of the federal government in the past two years. Our expectation was an overall minimum score of 90 points in all the three major indicators,” he said.
He however stated that NEITI was happy that Nigeria recorded her highest score of 90 points in the area of quality, openness and integrity of data, outcomes and impacts in the NEITI report.
Orji further remarked that the global EITI’s endorsement of Nigeria’s comprehensiveness and data integrity was very important for the work it is doing in Nigeria, given the importance of credible information and data to support planning and national development.
“NEITI is equally delighted with the score of 90 points recorded on contribution to economic growth and development as this points to the fact that the agency’s work has been impactful and aligns to the national priorities of government.
“NEITI, working more closely with the government, civil society and extractive companies is fully set to mobilise more work towards addressing the areas that need improvement as clearly highlighted in the report. These include deepening engagements with government, companies, civil society and the citizens,” the initiative stated.
Other areas for improvement, NEITI said, are priority attention to the development of the solid minerals sector, expanding beneficial ownership disclosures and all other emerging issues in the extractive sector as outlined in the EITI board assessment for improvement.
Orji however, expressed regrets that the absence of the board as required by the EITI standard to provide oversight adversely affected Nigeria’s overall performance in the international assessment.
He therefore renewed the agency’s and stakeholders’ calls for the urgency to reconstitute the National Stakeholders’ Working Committee (NSWG) affected by the recent dissolution of all boards of in Nigeria.
The global EITI has scheduled the January 1, 2026 for its next global assessment of Nigeria, during which it expects that all corrective actions should have been strengthened.
