The sixth and final member of the 15-member National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) also known as the Governing Board of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) was inaugurated on Tuesday in Abuja.
She is Dr Erisa Danladi who represents civil society organisations engaging in the Nigerian extractive industries processes.
Dr Danladi
On April 22, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu approved the reconstitution of the Board, civil society groups engaging in the extractive industries processes were given the concession to organize and elect their representatives to take up the only slot left.
On May 3, Dr Danladi, a farmer by vocation and current Deputy National Coordinator, Publish-What-You-Pay (PWYP) Transparency and Accountability Coalition Nigeria, defeated Mina Ogbanga, the immediate past CSO representative on the defunct Board, to emerge the new CSO representative.
At her inauguration on Tuesday. President Tinubu used the occasion to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to the implementation of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Principles and Standards.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, who also chairs the new NEITI Board, the President stated that transparency in the extractive sector as well as prudent management of Nigeria’s resources were central to the economic agenda and the anti-corruption policies of his government.
“The present administration is passionate and remains fully committed to the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). The work of NEITI and the visible impacts which the EITI process has achieved so far in Nigeria,” he said.
“Our faith in the EITI process is not just because it is central to our key government agenda, but also because, over the years, NEITI has demonstrated a high degree of competence, integrity and commitment to the values the country requires to achieve economic growth and development in the sector, through the availability of reliable information and data required for national planning and reforms.
“NEITI has supported phenomenal revenue growth in the sector through meticulous application of EITI principles. Our national and global focus on energy security, efficiency and justice in energy financing, renewables and control of emissions.”
He acknowledged NEITI’s work as being so important to the country, and in particular his administration, by helping the government define the country’s engagement strategy on the energy transition debate through consultations, constructive engagement driven by reliable information and data.
President Tinubu emphasized NEITI’s non-partisan nature, calling on the NSWG members to conduct themselves according to the EITI principles and standards that define the function of the NSWG to be focused on policy and oversight, not day-to-day management.
He reminded members of the Board that their appointments were part-time, and not full-time jobs, hence the need to carefully avoid getting involved on issues of the day-to-day NEITI management under the leadership of the Executive Secretary.
In his address to the Board shortly after the inauguration, Senator Akume explained that his appointment as the NSWG Chairman was a demonstration of the Federal Government’s prompt and timely response to the recent global EITI assessment of Nigeria’s implementation of the Initiative, which among other observations, stressed the urgent need to reconstitute NEITI’s Board to avoid sanctions.
The Chairman stressed the need for the new NEITI Board to immediately take steps to address the other outstanding issues raised by the EITI validation report, which the NEITI Secretariat has already prepared a detailed corrective action plan for the Board to consider.
“This Board has the responsibility to understand the issues and provide policy support to the Secretariat to successfully implement the plan. Nigeria scored 72 points in that global Assessment and it is my hope that Nigeria will score 100 points at the next validation due in January 2026 under this Board and my Chairmanship,” he said.
“Our duty as a Board is to provide strong policy direction for NEITI and the extractive sector for the full implementation of the EITI principles and standards to ensure transparency and accountability in the sector. We must support the ongoing independent audits of the industry, reforms in the oil and gas sector being driven by the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the reforms in the solid minerals sector, the proposed amendments of the NEITI Act, pay attention to the debate on climate change, energy transition, beneficial ownership disclosures, domestic resource mobilization, contracts transparency implementation and EITI standards on Open Data”.
Other members of the 15-Mman NEITI Board include the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), representing the Government, while the Group Chief Executive of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is representing the National Oil and Gas Company.
The Board also has a representative of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and the President of Miners’ Association of Nigeria representing Extractive Companies (Oil, gas and mining companies); the Presidents of Nigeria Mining & Geosciences Society (NMGS) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) representing Extractive Industries Professional Unions on the Board.
There are also representatives of the six geo-political zones on the Board, including Barr. Musa Abdullahi Lawan, representing the North-West Zone; Abubakar Mu’azua, North-East Zone and Amb. Matthew Sunday Adoli, North-Central Zone. Others include Olasupo Abdel-Jeleel Taiwo, representing the South-West; Chief Israel Ikechukwu Ikwuegbu, South-East and Dr Stephen Leo Akpan, South-South zone.
This is the 6th governing Board to be appointed for NEITI since Nigeria commenced the implementation of the global Initiative in 2004. By the NEITI Act 2007, the Chairman and Members have four-year tenure and are on a part-time basis, while the Executive Secretary has a five-year tenure and is on full-time appointment.
