By Abdullahi Alhassan
Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria - September 8, 2025 (Series News Online)
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, has called for a new agenda for civil society organizations in Nigeria to elevate their role in extractive governance. Dr. Orji made this call during a courtesy visit to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) in Abuja.
According to Dr. Orji, civil society organizations play a crucial role in shaping governance outcomes, amplifying citizen voices, defending transparency norms, and catalyzing reforms. He emphasized that within the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), civil society has been instrumental in demanding disclosures, safeguarding civic space, and ensuring reforms translate into meaningful impacts for citizens.
The NEITI Executive Secretary outlined a new agenda for civil society, which includes leading in energy transition accountability, tracking government and company commitments, and shaping community transition plans. Dr. Orji urged CISLAC to go beyond demanding contract and beneficial ownership disclosures to analyzing them and interpreting risks. He also emphasized the need for civil society to engage more on resource mobilization and fiscal justice, providing alternative policy options on revenue, subsidy reforms, and debt sustainability.
Dr. Orji, in particular, called on CISLAC to work closely with NEITI to lead the debate within the civil society constituency, urging them to transition from routine advocacy to knowledge leadership, and from monitoring to providing broader oversight of the extractive industries.
The NEITI Executive Secretary also highlighted the importance of institutional linkages and collaboration, citing NEITI's efforts to create partnerships to support civil society. He emphasized that civil society has been the backbone of Nigeria's EITI journey and urged organizations like CISLAC to evolve into solution-providers, knowledge leaders, and reform architects.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director of CISLAC and Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Comrade Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, highlighted the significance of the visit, describing it as a reaffirmation of the shared commitment to transparency, accountability, and reform in Nigeria's extractive industries. He emphasized that CISLAC and NEITI are natural allies, sharing a people-centered vision that Nigeria's natural wealth must benefit all Nigerians.
The CISLAC Executive Director called for a renewed commitment to transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement, urging collaboration to champion reforms that make the extractive sector more responsive to the needs of ordinary Nigerians. He identified areas of collaboration, including tracking implementation of NEITI audit recommendations, legislative advocacy, capacity building, and public awareness.
"CISLAC stands ready to work closely with NEITI to promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria's extractive industries, emphasizing that the true wealth of a nation lies not in its natural resources, but in how those resources are managed and shared," Comrade Auwal Rafsanjani said.
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