By Mercy Aikoye
The House of Representatives has disclosed plans by the 10th National Assembly to review the Act establishing the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
The review, the House said would focus on reviewing the NEITI Act to grant the agency statutory powers to implement the findings of their investigation, and possibly execute the recommendations of their report.
It will also grant NEITI powers to prosecute those found to be in breach of extant laws and further strengthen the governance structure of the agency placing more emphasis on transparency.
Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream, Ikegwuonu Ugochinyere gave the hint when the global leadership of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) visited members of the House Committee on Petroleum at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Thursday.
Ugochinyere recalled that the NEITI 2021 Oil and Gas Industry Report had been laid on the floor of the House of Representatives via a motion that he sponsored in compliance with the provisions of Section 4 (3) of the NEITI Act.
He disclosed that the house through its Petroleum Resources Committees, has also commenced the consideration of the report, adding that was investigating and working on all its recommendations from the Report.
He assured that the outcomes of the review will be made public and implemented accordingly.
The panel chief said the Petroleum Committee was poised to introduce key amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act, to ensure stronger provisions for clean energy transition.
He said: “We are also focused on reviewing the NEITI Act, to grant NEITI statutory powers to implement the findings of their investigation, and possibly execute the recommendations of their Report.
The lawmaker applauded EITI for providing leadership and guidance for some of the critical reforms, which he said the National Assembly “have taken cognizance of and will ensure that our legal framework is in tandem with the guiding principles of EITI and global best practices.”
Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Senator Etang Williams, said EITI activities in Nigeria’s extractive sector have brought sanity to the industry.
He assured the delegation of the 10th National Assembly commitment to passing legislation that will further strengthen transparency in the sector.
Deputy Executive Director, Bady Baldé, EITI, lamented the frequent political interference in the activities of its Nigeria branch, NEITI.
Acknowledging that some progress had been made by Nigeria in terms of improved transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, he said the frequent dissolution of the NEITI board was not good for the country.
He said the delegation was in Nigeria to convey the outcome explain the main findings and highlight areas of improvement contained in its assessment report covering 2019 to 2022 to stakeholders.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, said the frequent sack of the agency’s board affects Nigeria’s transparency score in its ranking of member countries.
He said: “As the head of the delegation explained, reports are just documents except if they are implemented and the findings or recommendations in our reports need your everyday attention and we’re glad about the report we’re receiving.
“On the areas of weaknesses identified in the report, we have already developed a national response comprehensive action plan which we have shared with all the agencies concerned. We’re going to share them also with the relevant committees to look to help your tracking, monitoring, and legislative oversight.
