The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to redefine their roles under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

It called on them to embrace stronger, knowledge-driven leadership in governance reforms.

Ogbonnaya Orji, executive secretary of NEITI, made the call on Monday during a visit to the executive director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, in Abuja.

Mr Orji said civil society must move beyond routine advocacy to become solution providers in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

“Civil society has been the conscience of the EITI process, demanding disclosures and defending civic space. But the future demands more,” he said.

According to him, the new agenda requires civil society to lead in energy transition accountability by developing scorecards to track government and company commitments, while shaping community transition plans to ensure no one is left behind.

He stressed that CSOs must go beyond demanding contract and beneficial ownership disclosures to analysing them, interpreting risks, and distilling lessons for policy and citizens.

“It calls for more engagement on resource mobilisation and fiscal justice, providing alternative policy options on revenue, subsidy reforms, debt sustainability, and equitable development.

“It calls for vigilance in curbing illicit financial flows, building civic observatories, and collaborating with investigative journalists, financial intelligence units, and global watchdogs,” Mr Orji added.

The NEITI boss also disclosed that the agency had signed MoUs with the EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU, while finalising partnerships with the National Bureau of Statistics and NNPC Ltd.

He noted that these linkages were creating more platforms for civil society engagement.

He further revealed that NEITI’s 2024 industry reports on oil, gas, and solid minerals would be released before the end of 2025.

Mr Orji urged CISLAC to expand its civic bulletins into peer-reviewed scholarly publications that would strengthen research, teaching, and global thought leadership in extractive governance.

He pledged NEITI’s commitment to maintaining an open civic space and working with civil society partners to chart a new reform path.

In his remarks, CISLAC executive director and head of Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Rafsanjani, outlined the visit as a reaffirmation of both organisations’ shared commitment to reforms in the extractive sector.

He recalled the role civil society played in pushing for Nigeria’s adoption of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2003, which later culminated in the enactment of the NEITI Act 2007.

According to him, this milestone positioned Nigeria as the first country to formally implement EITI, embedding transparency in resource governance.

Mr Rafsanjani noted that CISLAC and NEITI had worked closely over the years on policy dialogues, awareness campaigns, host community engagements, and advocacy on beneficial ownership transparency.

He said NEITI’s work had exposed critical governance gaps, saved Nigeria billions of naira, and informed vital policy decisions.

“As Nigeria faces challenges of dwindling oil revenues, energy transition, and governance risks in the solid minerals sector, our collaboration becomes even more urgent.

“The true wealth of a nation lies not in its resources, but in how those resources are managed and shared,” Mr Rafsanjani said.

He called for stronger use of NEITI’s audit reports to drive accountability, greater legislative advocacy, capacity building for journalists and civil society, and protection of civic space in extractive governance.

The CISLAC chief assured NEITI of the organisation’s readiness to continue working as “a watchdog and amplifier” of reforms in the sector.

(NAN)