Solid Minerals: Nigeria Gets 2012 Deadline

Weeks after Nigeria achieved the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) compliance status one month ahead of schedule, the country is set to begin audit of her solid minerals sector to meet up with the June 2012 deadline issued to her by EITI.

Chairman of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Professor Asisi Asobie told journalists in Abuja that EITI has given the country until June 2012 to submit an audit report of her vast solid minerals sector in line with its principles of enthroning transparency in the extractive industry.

Asobie who was with the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed at a NEITI organised press briefing on the way forward beyond Nigeria’s validation as an EITI complaint nation, stated that NEITI has drawn up concerted effort to implement its planned comprehensive audit of the solid minerals sector ahead of the 2012 deadline.

Although, EITI’s implementation efforts have largely been centered on the oil and gas sector, it has urged Nigeria to extend the transparency initiative to her solid mineral sector to allow it contribute more to national development.

Asobie said its efforts at meeting up with the deadline will further demonstrate the capacity of NEITI to intensify transparency and accountability in the country’s extractive industries.

He said that: “The activities of the NEITI board and secretariat is aimed at making the extractive sector of Nigeria progressively more transparent and corruption-free, it is therefore incumbent on it to continue to produce regular EITI reports, covering more aspects of the sector, to continue to disseminate such reports comprehensively to empower civil society to hold government to account and we will achieve this.”

On Nigeria’s attainment of EITI global compliant status, Asobie said that the validation was not synonymous with the country being declared corruption-free and that an EITI-complaint country was obligated to intensify revenue transparency in her extractive industries.

He explained that the status did not accord Nigeria a corruption-free standing and that; “In the case of Nigeria, we have a moderate score of 46.5 percent in global revenue transparency index, 2.5 percent on corruption index and 18 percent in budget implementation transparency, we have to move quickly to produce an EITI report on the solid minerals sector before the scheduled deadline.”

Source : Thisday