Implement EITI report recommendations, CSOs tell Tinubu

Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria and the Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA), have asked President Bola Tinubu to urgently implement key recommendations in the 2023 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

In the report released on November 30, EITI said Nigeria achieved a moderate score in implementing the 2019 EITI standard, with an average of 72 points.

EITI said the overall score reflects an average of the three component scores on stakeholder engagement, transparency, outcomes and impact.

It recommended some corrective actions which include industry engagement, civil society engagement, MSG governance, contract and license allocations, license register, contracts and beneficial ownership.

It also warned that failure to indicate progress at the next validation exercise in the area of outcome and impact, engagement and transparency, may result in temporary suspension.

A statement on Tuesday jointly signed by the civil society organisations said the current EITI ranking of Nigeria has negative implications on the economy.

The CSOs said the report also affects the drive for foreign investments in the country’s oil, gas and mining sectors.

“The current EITI ranking of Nigeria is actually a backsliding from where the country was before the recent validation exercise,” the statement reads.

“The last validation exercise was conducted in 2019 when Nigeria was adjudged “Satisfactory Progress” which represented the highest ranking any member countries of the global EITI can attain at the time.

“This unfortunate backsliding by Nigeria in the global EITI ranking is a reflection of weak institution, poor stakeholders engagement, low transparency and accountability process.

“All these have negative implications for investors’ confidence and growth of the extractive sector.

“The EITI validation report is taken very seriously by foreign investors, multi-lateral institutions and development agencies when making investment decisions.

“Nigeria’s fairly low score in stakeholders engagement component, particularly the extractive companies, indicates their lack of confidence in the EITI process in Nigeria, with implications on investment decisions.

“The Presidency and other agencies with oversights functions need to act swiftly and implement these key recommendations and other reforms to enable effective EITI implementation in Nigeria.”