Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has called on stakeholders in all sectors of the country’s economy to give adequate attention to the issue of transparency, accountability and honesty in their conduct, as a way of enhancing the living conditions of the citizens.
‘It has become clear that if opportunities for transparency and oversight incr ease in the sector, the opportunities for corruption will decrease. Strengthening accountability within sector operations will encourage governance setting in which oil wealth may create welfare benefits,’ the Acting President told the gathering at the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) High-level roundtable in Abuja.
Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producer with reserve levels that far exceed those of its neighbours. Nigeria is also the eleventh largest producer globally.
The country began exporting oil in commercial quantities and had been one of the world’s leading oil exporters since 1970. Since 1958, Nigeria’s international importance arises from its high quality crude, accessi bility to Western markets, continuing exploration potential, and absence of resource nationalisation trends that are evident in other oil-produci ng states.
‘Our economy is heavily dependent on the oil and gas sector. Oil accounts for about 40 percent of our Gross Domestic Product and more than 80 percent of our foreign earnings As is the case with most mineral-rich coun tries, valuable resources have not translated to sustained improvements in living standards,’ Jonathan added.
To combat what he described as the ‘resource curse’ and ensure transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, the Acting President said the government opened up oil and gas revenues to greater scrutiny by signing on to implement the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiatives (EITI) principles with a formal launch in February 2004.
The Nigerian government also demonstrated a greater commitment to the NEITI process by passing the NEITI bill into law in May 2007.
The first National Stakeholder Working Group (NSWG), with representatives from c ivil society, industry, federal and state governments, was inaugurated to spearhead the implementation of EITI in Nigeria.
A Civil Society Steering Committee was also established in June 2005 to consult with the NSWG on EITI implementation.
The comprehensive Process, Financial and Physical Audit of the Oil and Gas sector periodically carried out by NEITI has significantly improved information flow.
With the pioneering 1999-2004 and 2005 Audit Reports, unprecedented amounts of revenue information have been brought into the public domain, with Nigeria recovering millions of dollars from under-payments of taxes and roy alties by extractive industry companies.
“The NEITI progress is a good step forward and my belief is that many more such steps by government and other initiatives would help us reach a tipping point in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“When government is able to allow revenues of all sectors to be monitored and p ublicised, when motivation for corruption and misappropriation of revenues are reduced, when the citizenry is able to see how earnings from their natural resources are being utilized, when these resources start translating to good schools, hospitals, roads and food, then a profound shift would have bee n achieved,’ Dr. Jonathan said.