NEITI warns poor transparency could deter foreign investment
Musa Sarkin-Adar, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has cautioned that Nigeria risks losing foreign investment in its oil, gas, and mining sectors if it performs poorly in the upcoming Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) validation. He highlighted the importance of transparency and accountability in attracting global investors and expressed concern about inadequate cooperation from key government agencies. Sarkin-Adar also revealed that previous NEITI audits showed Nigeria nearly lost $7 billion due to companies not fulfilling financial obligations and warned of further issues in the forthcoming audit report. He urged civil society to advocate for greater transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s natural resources.
TLDR
- Musa Sarkin-Adar warned that poor transparency ratings could drive away foreign investors from Nigeria’s extractive sectors.
- The upcoming EITI validation is seen as critical for Nigeria’s international investment reputation.
- Key government agencies have not been sufficiently cooperative with NEITI’s validation process.
- Previous NEITI audits revealed Nigeria almost lost $7 billion due to unpaid company obligations, with more issues expected in the next audit report.
- Sarkin-Adar called for stricter penalties for defaulting companies and encouraged civil society to push for better transparency in revenue recovery.
