The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, is asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to give them more support in their efforts to make the extractive industries in Nigeria more open and accountable. The call was made in Abuja on Friday, November 10, 2023 by the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Orji Ognonaya Orji, when he and his team paid a visit to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede at the corporate headquarters of the EFCC, in Jabi, Abuja.
Mr Orji said that NEITI’s goal is to make the extractive industry more transparent and accountable and they need the EFCC’s help to make sure that companies are sharing the right information and data. “We need strong support of the EFCC to make sure that companies are sharing the right information and data,” he said.
During the presentation to the management staff of the Commission, Orji revealed that 28 out of the 36 states of the federation are getting 84% of their revenue from allocation from the federation accounts. He explained that NEITI’s findings and recommendations are leading reforms in the oil, gas and mining industries and to make sure they can do even better, he asked for stronger collaboration and teamwork with the EFCC. “Our friends in this industry are few but with a friend like the EFCC, we feel strong and confident,” he said. He also asked for joint training, capacity building and manpower development for staff of the EFCC and NEITI.
In response, the EFCC boss said that every effort to fight corruption should always be based on transparency. He stressed that lessons learned from fraud investigations should guide individuals, organizations and nations. “Corruption investigation is not just for the sake of investigation. Lessons learned should always be applied,” he said.
He assured NEITI of better collaboration. “We will renew our collaboration and mutual support. We will allow NEITI desks in our Zonal offices,” he said.
