The Africa Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has pledged to work collaboratively with the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to make the information and data of the country’s extractive industries readily accessibility to the public.
The pledge was made in Abuja on Saturday when the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, visited the NEITI Data Centre to explore areas of potential collaboration.
Ugolor who was received by the Executive Secretary/CEO of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who conducted his guest on a tour of the facility.
He said his visit was informed by the need for civil society groups to work in partnership with NEITI to ensure access to information and data about the activities of the extractive industries were readily accessible to the public.
The NEITI Data Centre, which is one of the flagship achievements of the Orji-led administration at NEITI, was established to serve as a one-stop repository for information and data on Nigeria’s extractive sector.
Apart from data on oil, gas, and solid minerals sectors, the Centre houses all data and reports published in NEITI’s Annual Industry Reports since its inception in 2004, providing stakeholders with easy access to historical and current industry insights.
Beyond data storage, Orji told his guest that the Centre was designed to enhance public access to aggregated and disaggregated extractive industry data to the benefit of a diverse range of stakeholders, including civil society organizations, the media, extractive industry companies, government agencies, and the legislature.
Also, he said the Centre was established to facilitate data analysis, training, and capacity building in data science, to equip stakeholders with the necessary tools for informed decision-making and policy advocacy.
“The establishment of the Centre aligns with Nigeria’s commitment to the Open Data policy requirements under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) 2023 Standards. It also strengthens NEITI’s Systematic Disclosure Programme, which is increasingly becoming the global standard for transparency in the extractive industry,” he said.
“By ensuring secure, reliable, and easily accessible data, the Centre will play a pivotal role in enhancing information dissemination and stakeholder engagement in the sector,” Orji added.
He emphasized the transformative impact of the Centre, adding that in a country where data is abundant, yet often inaccessible, the NEITI Data Centre would serve as a game changer.
“It will drive the much-needed reforms in Nigeria’s extractive industry by providing timely, credible data for evidence-based decision-making, public debate, and advocacy,” Orji said.
Hw said the hardware infrastructure of the NEITI Data Centre, equipped with integrated communication facilities, was completed on August 17, 2024, adding that the next phase of the project would focus on designing and implementing software applications to enhance data security, storage, content management, data collection, integration, and analysis.
Besides, he said training programmes would be rolled out to build the capacity of the team responsible for managing the Centre effectively.
During the visit, the ANEEJ Executive Director formally presented the organization’s official 2025 calendar to the NEITI Executive Secretary and extended an invitation to participate in ANEEJ’s upcoming 30th-anniversary celebrations.
