The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, has said Nigeria’s oil and gas sector needs reforms.
Ogbonnaya Orji stated that the sector holds a $66 billion potential and should be reformed for better contribution to the country’s economy.
The NEITI Chief stated this on Thursday in an interview with Arise TV. He added that the report released by the agency on Thursday would help policymakers reform the sector.
“Reforms and that’s exactly what I’m speaking. Every organization, every country that we have known about, 57 member countries of the EITI, they have global, they have standards. The EITI will implement, they have standards, and Nigeria is a signatory. So if you follow those standards, it will be easy to set up structures and mechanisms that will make it impossible for certain things to happen,” he said.
He noted that reforming the oil and gas sector always comes with challenges all over the world. He added that Thursday’s NEITI‘s report on the sector has been simplified to ensure easy implementation.
“Yes, it’s a challenge, not just in Nigeria. In most developing countries, it’s a challenge to design a plan that makes it difficult for people, for even people or companies to do certain things. The companies are willing to comply.
“The agencies are also doing their best, but most times there is a gap, capacity gap, information gap, interest gap, institutional weaknesses, and all that. And we have seen a lot, you know, working in this sector. So the report we have issued now is a guide to policy decisions. We need a policy shift. And if you go through this report, it’s enormous.
‘We have simplified this report in infographics, and from tomorrow (today, Friday) that will be on our website. Even those who came for the launch today (Thursday) also had some simplified version. Within, if you want to implement it, you need to read the main report. And the main report has to go to the specific areas of interest. We’re talking of $66 billion. So a document that shows you how that money can be recovered requires some kind of attention,” Orji stated.
Speaking on the report for the solid mineral sector, the NEITI chief explained that it would be released in October. He regretted that the solid mineral sector has not been organized.
“The solid minerals report will be released next month, before the end of next month. We’re almost there, but we needed to do some extensive work because that sector is a different ball game on it. The sector is not organized.
“The report should be out by October ending. And we decided to have some extension of time to make sure that a more thorough work is done. And our board has given us that grace to work more with the rural, civil society-based organizations and key players in the sector to do a more thorough job. By the end of this month, that sector will be out,” Orji explained.