The Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is set to unveil the first multi-million Naira extractive industries data centre.
The NEITI Data Centre completed over the weekend is another landmark achievement for Nigeria reputed for consistently setting the pace for innovative implementation of the global Extractive Industries transparency initiative standards.
The fully automated state-of-the-art Centre fitted with the latest communication and ICT equipments is the first of its kind among the 57 EITI-implementing countries.
Conceived by the immediate past National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), also known as the NEITI Board, the incumbent NEITI administration sustained and competed the work on the project in-spite of the economic pressures as a result of persisting Naira-Dollar exchange rate volatility and escalating inflation.
The Data Centre is in line with determination of NEITI to pursue initiatives under its five-year Strategic Plan aimed at institutionalizing EITI process in Nigeria.
BENEFITS
Apart from serving as a one-stop shop for information and data on Nigeria’s extractive sector (consisting oil, gas and solid minerals), the Centre will also serve as a reservoir for all information and data published in the various NEITI Annual Industry Reports since the first edition in 2004 till date.
Conducting some representatives of Civil Society Organisations working in the extractive industries to insect the Centre in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, said on said the Centre will serve as a warehouse for all extractive industry data in aggregated and disaggregated formats for easy public access by multi-stakeholders, especially the civil society, the media, extractive industry companies, government agencies and the legislature.
Orji, who received the delegation led by the CSOs representative on the NEITI National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), Dr Erisa Danladi Sarki, said the Centre would also provide data information analysis, training and manpower development in data science education deployment and utilisation required to sustain a robust public knowledge and understanding of Nigeria’s extractive industry.
He explained that the conception of the Centre aligns with Nigeria’s commitment to fully comply with the Open Data policy requirements under the EITI 2023 Standards, by providing backbone support for NEITI/EITI Systematic Disclosure programme, which is fast becoming the future of the EITI Industry globally.
The ES explained that the Data Centre was also conceived to enhance easy access to reliable data, ensure data security, management as well as enhance dissemination engagements with the country’s extractive industry.
In addition to providing evidence-led stakeholders-civic-engagement that supports public debate, Orji said the new Centre would also support NEITI’s contribution and value-addition to national planning and development.
“Diverse groups that have come to invest enormous trust on NEITI’s capability and capacity to provide timely, credible information and data for informed decision-making, engagements and advocacy over the years see the data centre as a game changer and positive disruptive development”, Orji, told the CSO delegation.
While applauding President Tinubu’s administration for its support to the completion of the project, Orji praised the Chairman of NEITI Board and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume and members of the Board for their leadership.
Giving further background to the project, Orji said when it was conceived in March 2022, NEITI had developed a comprehensive project concept note that was sent to the World Bank for funding consideration over a period of three years.
He said NEITI’s hope of 2024 securing funding for the project’s execution from the World Bank under the Bank’s Extractives Global Programmatic Support (EGPS) was however dashed, following the closure of the window for such support opportunities for extractive sectors governance in EITI member countries.
“We had no other choice than to approach the Federal Government under President Tinubu for funding in the 2023 and 2024 budgets respectively,” Orji said.
Coincidentally, he said at the point the project execution commenced, the Federal Government had approved the acquisition of a permanent office building for NEITI in further demonstrations of its commitment to the EITI implementation as well as to save the agency the indignity of squatting in rented accommodations for nearly 20 years.
He said the newly acquired NEITI House was an abandoned property that was in a terrible condition of disrepair, requiring extensive reconstruction, rehabilitation, renovation and furnishings, to make it decent enough for habitation.
The other challenge about the property, he pointed out, was that there was no provision in the NEITI 2023 budget for the installation of ICT infrastructure required to serve the entire building and to support the Data Centre, which is considered a critical component necessary for a modern functional data-driven agency like NEITI.
EXPANSION OF THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
To address the challenge, Orji said the scope of the Data Centre project was expanded to provide for the basic requirements of up-to-date ICT infrastructure as a foundation to the main data centre.
Under the expanded scope of the project, he said the ICT infrastructure was enhanced to provide for the following:
- NEITI Server Room for the entire building complex;
- A Control Room to power the main Data Centre;
- Provision of CCTV Cameras & allied devices for the entire building complex;
- Provision of access control for the whole offices in the building to ensure security and protection of the data centre;
- Provision of reliable internet access for the entire building;
- Conduct of a country-wide data integrity assessment of the extractive sector ahead of Nigeria’s EITI Validation, and
- The provision for the project management/consultancy and allied services.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Giving further details, Orji disclosed that provision was made in the 2024 NEITI budget to cover the implementation of specific scope of work and tasks in the main data centre project, such as the provision of servers, comprehensive land area network.
To secure the services of qualified experts to handle the project, he said NEITI sponsored advertisement in two national newspapers and the Federal Tenders Journal of May 1, 2023, with June 13, 2023 as the closing date for submission of tenders as a single whole project in Phases 1 and 2.
He said the scope of the project included the provision of servers, local land area network, switches and allied devices, visual technology displays equipment and adequate state of the art video conferencing and communication equipment.
“All these important preliminary prerequisite activities were duly achieved under the 2023 capital budget provision, with the main data centre project executed under the NEITI 2024 fiscal year,” Orji explained.
“The decision by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to take up the funding of the project in the 2023 and 2024 budgets respectively came as a huge relief to NEITI and a bold positive statement of the administration’s commitment to the implementation of the EITI standards in Nigeria.
“It is therefore most encouraging that the different segments of the project were all achieved within the initial budget over a two-year period without any variation, despite foreign exchange volatility, galloping inflation and other general hike in price levels experienced in the economy over the period,” he added.
With the completion of the project ahead of the release of the 2024 capital funds by the Federal Government, he said NEITI was satisfied that its commitment to achieving much with less resources was met.
He commended the NEITI team and the indigenous firms that handled the project for their exceptional project management initiatives, commitment, expertise and sacrifice.
On why the project missed its initial March 2024 completion deadline, Orji attributed the delay to unforeseen circumstances beyond NEITI control, primarily as a result of delays in the release of funds, adherence to the requirements of the procurement procedures, advertisements to meet the criteria for open, competitive procurement processes, etc.
Meanwhile, during the visit to the Centre, the CSO representatives hailed the NEITI Board and management for the timely completion of project.
The CSOs who described the quality of work at the facility as impressive, commended the Executive Secretary, and his team for a job well done and the new Board for its leadership.