The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has tasked civil society organisations (CSOs) to embrace advocacy on resource governance, social justice, fiscal sustainability, environmental accountability, and democratic freedom.

NEITI urged the CSOs to move beyond advocacy for transparency and embrace a new agenda that connects resource governance with broader struggles for social justice.

Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, executive secretary, NEITI, said on Thursday in a congratulatory message to Resource Justice Network (RJN) on its recent transition.

Mr Orji hailed the RJN on its recent historic transition from Publish What You Pay (PWYP), describing the move as a bold reform that strengthens CSO’s role in advancing justice, equity, and sustainability in natural resource governance.

Mr Orji, in a statement by Obiageli Onuorah, director, communications and stakeholder management, NEITI, encouraged the RJN to galvanise Nigerian CSOs into a united front for resource justice.

He described the movement as one that would defend communities, challenge corruption and inequity, and ensure that Nigeria’s abundant resources translate into shared prosperity on a thriving planet.

While congratulating the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), the NEITI Secretariat, and RJN, Mr Orji reaffirmed commitment to deepen collaboration with CSOs under the EITI framework.

“NEITI applauds RJN for the courage and vision to embark on an internal reform that positions civil society at the center of global struggles for natural resource justice, energy transition, and human development.

“This transition is more than a change of name. It represents a renewed vision and strategy that situates civil society at the very heart of global struggles for justice, equity, and sustainability in resource governance,” he said.

According to Mr Orji, the transformation aligned with the expanding scope of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) beyond revenue disclosures to include beneficial ownership transparency, contract disclosure and open data.

Others are domestic resource mobilisation, climate change, environmental justice, gender equity, and the energy transition.

He recalled that since 2005, NEITI has worked closely with PWYP in Nigeria under the EITI process, witnessing first-hand, its pioneering role in reforms that reshaped the extractive industries.

According to Mr Orji, RJN’s emergence is not a departure from that legacy but an expansion of it, broadening advocacy to include civil liberties, climate accountability, poverty reduction, and human rights.

While commending RJN’s leadership for embracing inclusivity, renewal, and accountability, Mr Orji urged the network to extend reforms to raise ethical standards, integrity, and professional conduct among members.

“This is crucial to sustaining the new image and ensuring that RJN remains a beacon of trust, independence, and credibility in the eyes of citizens, policymakers, and the global EITI community.”

 (NAN)