NNPC Partners EITI to Deepen Development in Oil Sector

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has partnered with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) company to ensure transparency and accountability in the Nigerian oil sector.

This was made known on Tuesday, 18 August 2020, in a joint statement by EITI and NNPC.

According to the statement, NNPC has become an EITI supporting company, joining a group of over 65 extractives companies —state-owned enterprises (SOEs), commodity traders, financial institutions and industry partners committed to ensuring open and efficient management of mineral resources.

Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, Board Chair, EITI, while welcoming NNPC to EITI said “NNPC plays a vital role in Nigeria’s economy. Joining the EITI as a supporting company is a welcome step in the NNPC’s journey toward achieving greater transparency and to help ensure that Nigeria’s citizens benefit from their natural resource wealth.”

Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, who is also a former EITI board member, said that transparency from Nigeria oil companies will improve the country’s domestic resource mobilisation efforts.

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, assured NNPC commitment to the EITI, saying that “Becoming an EITI supporting company aligns with NNPC’s corporate vision and principles of transparency, accountability and performance excellence. Our partnership with NEITI and EITI strengthens our commitment towards commodity trading transparency, contract transparency and systematic disclosure of revenues and payments. We are on a journey towards greater transparency and look forward to deepening our collaboration with the EITI to further this work.”

Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary, NEITI, who applauded NNPC’s effort to support EITI, said “NNPC joining the EITI as a supporting company is a major inflection point in the quest for transparency – for the company, for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, and for the country as a whole. This is so given how critical NNPC is to the sector and to the country. NEITI welcomes this bold commitment. We will continue to work and walk with NNPC to translate its espoused commitments to transparency and accountability into concrete and sustained actions and results.”