He spoke in Abuja at a stakeholder’s workshop on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Annual Progress Reporting (APR) organized by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
Kyari who was represented by the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Governance, Risk & Compliance, Mr Chris Akamario said the corporation will continue to work with NEITI to deepen beneficial ownership disclosure in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, beyond statutory ownership in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) records.
“We have to bring in the banks both at the local and international levels. We are also going to work with NEITI to implement contract transparency in the sector and cooperate with NEITI to broaden Nigeria’s annual progress reporting in line with the requirements of the global EITI,” Kyari said.
Meanwhile, NEITI has urged Nigerians and stakeholders in the country’s oil, gas and mining sectors to celebrate key achievements, progress and milestones that have been recorded, through the mechanism of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) annual progress reporting.
Executive Secretary, NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji said the essence of the gathering was to broaden the scope of EITI annual progress reporting in Nigeria.
According to him, the EITI is not just about NEITI, it is about Nigeria as the annual progress report is about reporting, showcasing and celebrating the good work being done by various government agencies, civil society organizations and companies that are contributing to deepening reforms in Nigeria’s extractive industries.
He emphasised the need for stakeholders to share with NEITI their good works in the extractive industries to enable the transparency agency report and celebrate them using the instrumentality of the global EITI.
“NEITI is offering its platforms to celebrate these key achievements being recorded through the EITI annual progress reporting framework.
“We acknowledge that there are challenges, but we need to document, report and celebrate our efforts and key milestones in the process of addressing these challenges so as to build trust, earn investors’ confidence and attract desired investment into our economy,” Orji said.
EITI Anglophone Country Manager, Dr. Mike Uzoigwe, described the annual progress reporting as a very critical aspect of the EITI implementation and one of the core requirements for all implementing countries. He explained that the APR provides the opportunity for stakeholders to evaluate how EITI implementation is transforming the operations of member countries extractive landscape.
Uzoigwe commended NEITI for its work, saying that Nigeria remains the most elaborate EITI implementing country.
“Right from the beginning, the country has always set the pace and standard and therefore need to do everything possible to sustain this enviable leadership role in the global EITI community,” Uzoigwe said.
Also speaking at the event, the Director General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Dr. Idris Musa expressed satisfaction with the work of NEITI, noting that his agency will work to deepen EITI reporting in Nigeria.
He informed participants that his agency can now track and report its own gas flare, and no longer depending on third party data and record.
