By Bassey Udo
It was a solemn occasion laced with praises and commendations galore on Thursday as the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonanya Orji, bowed out of office in Abuja.
Last week, Orji, who joined NEITI in 2010 and was appointed into the office on February 20, 2021, served his mandatory notice of his pre-retirement vacation after over 40 years of meritorious service in the Federal Public Service.
The occasion on Thursday was Orji’s formal handing over to his newly appointed successor, Musa Sarkin Adar, who assumed office on Wednesday.
Praises, commendations galore
In his goodwill message at the occasion, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who is also the Chairman of the National Stakeholders’ Working Group (NSWG), also known as the NEITI Board, George Akume, praised Orji for his service to the nation, particularly his many achievements during his tenure.
The SGF, who was represented by the Director, Legal Services at the SGF’s Office, Mrs. Kamilatu Mustapha Kida, said that during Orji’s tenure, NEITI served as a beacon of integrity and good governance among public institutions in the country.
Commending Orji for his service to the country, the SGF acknowledged that his leadership at NEITI delivered historic milestones, including the acquisition and relocation of the agency to its permanent office, expansion of industry reporting, strengthening of public account disclosures through the NEITI annual audit reports, improvement in inter-agency partnerships, and enhancement of stakeholder confidence in the EITI process in Nigeria.
Wishing Orji a peaceful retirement and God’s guidance in his future engagements, the SGF urged his successor to deploy his wealth of experience and industry knowledge of Nigeria’s extractive sector while in office to further strengthen NEITI’s role as a model for transparency and accountability in Nigeria.
Some members of the NEITI Board, including the representatives of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs Lovette Onanuga, and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Gwueke Ajaifia, also congratulated Orji for the successful completion of his tenure, while hailing the appointment of his successor.
Representatives of the staff in the different departments of the agency also took turns in their commendation speeches to eulogize Orji’s impact during his tenure, describing him variously as a mentor, a builder and “father of modern NEITI”.
Adar steps in; pledges to sustain momentum
After receiving the handover note, which included a copy of the NEITI Operational Rules & Procedures; NEITI Act, and a detailed status report on the agency’s accounts, the new Executive Secretary of NEITI, Musa Adar, pledged to sustain the momentum in Nigeria’s extractive sector reforms as well as consolidate NEITI’s role as a model of integrity and accountability.
He thanked the Federal government for the opportunity to serve, emphasizing his commitment to sincerity of purpose, honesty, openness and objectivity in the discharge of his official responsibilities, especially in his relationship with the staff, to move NEITI forward.
“I am committed and determined to take up this job with all the sincerity it deserves. I am not going to govern. I am going to lead. I do not wear any toga of sentiments. I will carry everybody along. I have no hidden agenda. My agenda covers everyone – man or woman. It is your competence, trustworthiness and hard work that will guide my relationship with you”, Adar told the staff and audience.
He said one of his immediate major tasks would be to look at the loopholes in the NEITI Act to see how they could be amended through the National Assembly to align with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the EITI 2023 Standards, to strengthen the NEITI process.
Adar pledged to build on the achievements of his predecessor, to sustain the momentum and commitment to continuity, transparency and reforms towards achieving the mandate of NEITI in the extractive industries.
Reflections on service and achievement
In an emotional farewell speech, Orji reflected on his over four decades in the Federal public service, 20 years of which, he said, were spent in NEITI.
Orji, who described the event as a defining and emotional moment in his professional journey in public service as a journalist and Chief Executive Officer of NEITI, said his experiences were both humbling and deeply fulfilling.
He thanked the Federal Government for the opportunity to serve in that capacity, saying his achievements during his tenure have justified the trust and confidence reposed in his capacity.
Looking back, Orji said when he took office on February 19, 2021, NEITI was faced with a number of operational, governance, and institutional challenges, namely lack of office accommodation and constant threat of eviction from rented apartments; a vacant NSWG; strained stakeholder relations; inadequate tools and infrastructure; low staff morale, and a rapidly evolving extractive governance landscape demanding climate reporting, systematic disclosure, beneficial ownership transparency, and data-driven accountability.
He said on assumption of office his pledge to the NEITI management and staff were to secure a permanent office for the agency; reconstitute the NEITI Board; expand the scope and depth of industry reporting by the NEITI; recruit young, skilled professionals; upward review of staff salaries; modernization of official work tools, and review of the NEITI Act to align with the PIA and the EITI Standard.
Reviewing his records of achievements, Orji said he felt fulfilled that he was able to tick the boxes in all the pledges, except the full amendment of the NEITI Act, which he said extensive groundwork has already been completed.
His achievements
He listed his achievements to include the restoration of good governance and institutional stability through the reconstitution of the 5th NSWG in July 2021 and 6th NSWG in May 2024; strengthening of NEITI’s administrative structure, by expanding the directorates from five to eight, improving efficiency, deepening technical capacity, and aligning the Secretariat with evolving global standards, and improving operational capability of NEITI through the provision of ICT tools, digital reporting infrastructure, and communication systems.
Other achievements include improved public information disclosures through evidence-based reporting, recovering over $3 billion for the Federal Government, and identifying over $6 billion of outstanding revenues and liabilities through the NEITI Audit reports, which strengthened domestic resource mobilization and fiscal transparency.
Besides, he said, NEITI, under his leadership, maintained full global compliance with its consistent publication of Oil & Gas, Solid Minerals, and FASD Reports, advancing key reforms in the extractive industry, including PIA implementation, beneficial ownership transparency, contract disclosure, licensing accountability, environmental reporting, and subnational governance.
He said that despite the complexities surrounding the 2023 Validation cycle, he led NEITI to ensure that Nigeria achieved 92% in Outcomes and Impact and 90% in Transparency, reaffirming NEITI’s standing as a leading global reform institution.
“A historic milestone of my tenure was the acquisition of NEITI House, the institution’s first permanent headquarters, valued at over ₦4 billion and saving the Federal Government more than ₦150 million annually,” he said, adding that during his tenure staff welfare received unprecedented attention with the implementation of an upward salary review of over 100% in January this year as an incentive to boost morale and productivity.
He identified the NEITI Data Centre as one of the most transformative legacies of his administration, as it would, on completion, enable real-time digital disclosures in revenue flows, beneficial ownership, contract transparency, host community funding, and emissions accountability.
Areas of priority attention to successor
Orji used the occasion to offer suggestions on aspects of NEITI operations that his successor should consider giving priority attention to.
These include the completion and deployment of the NEITI Data Centre; deepening of PIA implementation and collaboration with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream-Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, civils society organizations, and development partners as well as strengthening of oversight of the solid minerals sector, sustaining NSWG stability, early preparation for the 2026 EITI Validation, enhancing remediation and enforcement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corruption and other related practices Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Finance Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“For me, this is not a farewell. It is the completion of one phase of service and the beginning of another—to God, to humanity, to community, and to country. It has been a profound honour to serve and to lead NEITI,” Orji said, as he took his bow, to the applause of the audience.
