The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has intensified efforts to strengthen accountability and enforcement in Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining sectors by deepening its strategic partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The renewed commitment was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by NEITI’s Director of Communications and Stakeholder Management, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, following separate courtesy visits by the agency’s leadership to the headquarters of the two anti-graft bodies.
According to the statement, the engagement reflects NEITI’s resolve to move beyond transparency disclosures to concrete enforcement actions, remediation of audit findings and the plugging of systemic revenue leakages that have long plagued Nigeria’s extractive industries.
During the visits, NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Mr Musa Sarkin Adar, stressed the urgency of closer inter-agency collaboration to ensure that findings from NEITI’s audits translate into measurable outcomes. He said his leadership has prioritised strategic engagement with institutions whose statutory mandates align with NEITI’s core mission of transparency and accountability.
Adar described the EFCC and ICPC as indispensable partners in converting NEITI’s extensive audit disclosures into sanctions, recoveries and institutional reforms. “This partnership is not just about disclosure. It is about accountability, corrective actions, and measurable impact,” he said. “As Nigeria prepares for the 2026 EITI Validation, our collective responsibility is to demonstrate that transparency leads to real change.”
He explained that Nigeria’s forthcoming validation under the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative framework would assess the country’s implementation of the 2023 EITI Standard across three pillars: transparency, stakeholder engagement, and outcomes and impact. According to him, the exercise represents a national test of Nigeria’s commitment to openness and accountability in the management of its natural resources, rather than an assessment of NEITI alone.
Adar formally requested the continued cooperation of the EFCC and ICPC under existing Memoranda of Understanding, calling for stronger joint action through intelligence sharing, technical collaboration and coordinated follow-up on cases arising from NEITI’s audit reports.
Responding, the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, described NEITI’s audit reports as “indispensable raw materials” for investigations into financial crimes in the extractive sector. He disclosed that the commission has established a dedicated Extractive Industry and Fraud Section to address sector-specific corruption and pledged to review and strengthen the existing MoU with NEITI to enhance coordination and effectiveness.
Similarly, the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), hailed NEITI as a “critical vanguard” in the fight against systemic corruption, particularly in the management of extractive resources. He revealed that the commission has operationalised a Special Extractive Industry Desk to act specifically on NEITI’s findings.
“By combining NEITI’s forensic data with ICPC’s investigative and prosecutorial powers, we have moved beyond reporting infractions to rectifying them,” Aliyu said, assuring NEITI of sustained partnership.
Nigeria’s extractive sector, dominated by oil and gas, remains the backbone of government revenue but has long been characterised by opacity and weak enforcement. Observers say the renewed alliance signals a coordinated push to close the enforcement gap as Nigeria seeks to demonstrate compliance with global transparency standards ahead of the 2026 EITI Validation.
