The National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has announced the completion of the 2022/2023 industry audit for over 198 oil and gas firms and government agencies.
The feat was achieved before schedule, NIETI said on Wednesday after a meeting at the conference room of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
NEITI said the report marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward transparency, accountability, and good governance in the extractive industries.
The institution disclosed that the report will be officially released on Thursday.
Commenting on the report, the Chairman of the NSWG and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, highlighted the achievements of NEITI since its inauguration.
Akume said, “I am pleased to announce that today, NEITI has successfully delivered on the task of completing these reports ahead of schedule.
“This is not only a major milestone but also a powerful demonstration of our collective commitment to upholding the principles of transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive industries.
“During that visit, I committed to ensuring that the NSWG would be reconstituted and that the Industry Reports would be completed and published by September. Today, I am proud to say that both commitments have been fully met.
“Together, we are setting new benchmarks for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive industries, and this is just the beginning.”
Explaining the report, member of the Board and Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, said that the focus of the 2022/2023 Industry Report, approved by the Board, is on public disclosure.
He said the NEITI report is focused on blocking leakages and incentivising domestic resource mobilisation.
NEITI boss said the reports aims at identifying and disclosing where potential government revenues are hidden and provide credible information on how such funds could be recovered by the respective government agencies covered by the NEITI process.
He said, “We are therefore grateful to the Federal Government for funding these important independent reports at a time of economic difficulty amidst increasing national priorities. We are equally delighted that we delivered the report on time to provide current information and data, placing them in the public domain.”
NEITI Audits 198 Companies, Government Agencies is first published on The Whistler Newspaper