Atlantic Post

ABUJA, NIGERIA — The recent inauguration of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) governing board marks a significant milestone in the country’s quest for transparent and accountable management of its rich oil, gas, and mineral resources. In an op-ed, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, Executive Director of Policy Alert, outlines the critical challenges and opportunities facing the new NEITI board, formally inaugurated on May 21, 2024, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A New Phase for NEITI

Bolton-Akpan notes that the sixth NEITI board, known as the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), steps into a landscape that has evolved significantly since Nigeria joined the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2004. This new board’s inception comes just three months after NEITI’s twentieth anniversary, a symbolic moment that underscores the need for reflection, documentation of lessons, and strategic planning for the future.

Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, chairs this new board, marking the first time a top-tier government official with supra-ministerial authority has led NEITI. Bolton-Akpan highlights that this unprecedented leadership structure presents a golden opportunity to reinvigorate the political will necessary for NEITI’s success.

Decades of Transparency and Transformation

According to Bolton-Akpan, NEITI’s journey can be divided into three distinct phases: the decade of transparency, the decade of transformation, and now, the decade of transition. The first decade saw NEITI establish itself as a formidable institution, prying open the opaque and corrupt extractive sector. The second decade brought about transformative audits and disclosures, including sub-national transfers, contract transparency, and beneficial ownership disclosures.

As NEITI embarks on its third decade, it must transition into an agenda-setting and enabling body for a transparent, accountable, and just energy transition for Nigeria. The new board’s mandate is clear: to address unfinished business from the previous decade while defining new priorities for the future.

Reinvigorating NNPC Ltd’s Transparency

A critical task for the new board is to restore the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Ltd) to its former glory regarding data transparency. Before the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the NNPC was lauded for its proactive disclosures, including monthly financial and operational data. The company made history in June 2020 by publishing its first audited financial statements in its 43-year history. However, since becoming a public limited company, NNPC Ltd has rolled back on these transparency gains. Reversing this decline and ensuring continuous, comprehensive disclosures must be a top priority for the new board, Bolton-Akpan asserts.

Assessing NEITI’s Impact

Another urgent task is to conduct a reality check on NEITI’s relevance and return on investment for Nigeria. Bolton-Akpan questions how successive industry audits have translated into tangible socio-economic development. He urges the board to ensure that transparency leads to accountability, benefiting communities through compensation, job creation, gender equity, and environmental restoration.

Embracing EITI Mainstreaming and Data Analysis

Bolton-Akpan emphasizes that NEITI’s relevance hinges on its ability to move beyond data collection to meaningful data analysis and EITI mainstreaming. This systematic and routine disclosure of audit report content by government agencies and companies, without prompting from EITI, will free up NEITI’s resources for deeper analysis. This shift will not only make NEITI’s operations more cost-effective but also ensure more timely and relevant audits. With Nigeria’s complex extractive sector, a more ambitious and timely publishing schedule is essential, he argues.

Balancing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transition

Bolton-Akpan points out the dual challenge NEITI faces in governing a declining fossil fuel sector while defining transparency and accountability parameters for Nigeria’s energy transition, including the nascent critical minerals sector. Nigeria must optimize hydrocarbon revenues to address urgent development needs, drive economic diversification, and fix broken host communities and environments. As global demand for critical minerals grows, NEITI can lead responsible extraction practices, value addition initiatives, and equitable beneficiation.

The PIA’s blind spot regarding energy transition contrasts with Nigeria’s commitment to decarbonize by 2060 under the Paris Agreement and its Energy Transition Plan (ETP). NEITI must champion disclosures and analyses that clarify Nigeria’s risks and gains from developing its current reserves. How will the PIA’s host community provisions link to a just energy transition? Transformational disclosures on the Host Communities Development Fund, Decommissioning and Abandonment Fund, gas flare fines, and other payments are crucial, Bolton-Akpan asserts.

Strengthening NEITI’s Legal Framework

Finally, Bolton-Akpan sees an opportunity for NEITI to overhaul its enabling legislation. The proposed review of the NEITI Act 2007 must give the organization the authority to prosecute individuals and entities that contravene the Act. Confidentiality provisions that contradict transparency objectives must be removed, and the review should provide legal backing for NEITI to retain a portion of the revenues it recovers. Strengthening civil society’s voice and agency is also essential, as it remains the soul of the EITI process.

Strategic Alignment and Future Prospects

The outlined priorities align with NEITI’s strategic plan for 2022-2026 and address gaps identified in the 2023 EITI final validation report. NEITI’s agenda also ties in with Nigeria’s third National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership (OGP), presenting opportunities for mutually reinforcing implementation and outcomes. The new NSWG has a daunting but potentially rewarding task ahead, steering Nigeria’s extractive sector towards a more open, accountable, and prosperous future.

Conclusion

As NEITI embarks on its third decade, the success of its efforts will ultimately be measured by how much the EITI process contributes to real improvements in the lives of everyday Nigerians. The new board, under Senator George Akume’s leadership, must leverage its unique position to drive transparency, accountability, and a just energy transition in Nigeria. The road ahead is challenging, but with strategic planning, political will, and unwavering commitment, NEITI can continue to be a beacon of hope for Nigeria’s extractive industries and the broader socio-economic landscape.

Bolton-Akpan concludes that the success of NEITI’s new board will not only redefine transparency and accountability standards in Nigeria’s extractive industries but will also set a precedent for other resource-rich nations striving for good governance and sustainable development.