Stories by Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), pledging to deepen public disclosure, revenue reconciliation, independent audits and institutional accountability across Nigeria’s extractive sector.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, gave the assurance in Brussels, Belgium, while delivering Nigeria’s commitment statement on behalf of President Bola Tinubu at the EITI Leadership Forum of the 2026 EITI Global Conference, a statement by his spokesman, Louis Ibah, said.
Speaking on the theme: “Transparency for Shared Prosperity,” Ekpo said the government’s ongoing reforms were aimed at making petroleum revenues easier to trace, plugging leakages and giving citizens greater visibility into how proceeds from the country’s natural resources are collected and deployed.
He announced that Nigeria would, by the end of 2027, publish a progress update detailing the reforms implemented under the commitment and the measurable improvements recorded.
Ekpo said Nigeria’s commitment to transparency had moved beyond policy declarations and was increasingly embedded in the country’s legislation, institutions and regulatory processes.
He recalled that Nigeria joined the EITI in 2003 and domesticated the initiative a year later, while the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act of 2007 subsequently established a statutory framework for its implementation.
The minister also pointed to provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 requiring public registers of petroleum licences and leases, as well as the disclosure of beneficial ownership information.
According to him, the Tinubu administration is further strengthening the traceability and oversight of petroleum revenues by directing their remittance into the Federation Account and improving the reconciliation, reporting and management of revenue flows.
He cited Executive Order 9 of 2026, which he said also addresses certain deductions and arrangements affecting revenues accruing to the Federation.
“For Nigeria, this is both a fiscal and a transparency reform,” Ekpo said, adding that the measures provide a clearer pathway from petroleum production to revenue collection, remittance and eventual appropriation.