The Federal Government has tasked the newly constituted board of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to adopt a new approach to make Nigeria investment destination and increase the volume of investments into the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State while declaring open the ongoing retreat for members of the board at Ibom Resort, a statement by NEITI said on Wednesday.
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“The board of NEITI must articulate a new approach and seek productive collaborations where necessary, to make Nigeria investment destination and dramatically increase the quantum of investments to the country,” the president stated.
President Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, urged the new board to provide the required leadership and strategic direction for NEITI.
He described as unacceptable a situation where only $3billion came to Nigeria out of the $75bn investment in the extractive industry that flew into sub-Saharan Africa.
He used the opportunity of the NEITI retreat to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to use the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to implement reforms and revenue growth.
He charged the new board to note that their appointment is part-time and avoid acts capable of disrupting the day to day management of the agency .“I have witnessed a lot of disruptions to agency activities due majorly to a misunderstanding and at times deliberate misinterpretation of roles”.
The Chairman of the board, Mr Olusegun Adekunle, pledged the commitment of the team to push the boundaries of EITI implementation in Nigeria to achieve impactful results.
