Nigeria risks being delisted from the global body of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) over the delay in the release the oil and gas and solid mineral reports for the year 2013.
The deadline given by the EITI to Nigeria to publish the reports elapsed since December 31, 2015.
The reports, though ready, has not been approved for publication because the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has no b oard to approve it.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last year, among 247 boards of federal parastatals, sacked the 15-member National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), which is the NEITI board.
Representatives of the global body warned in a meeting with NEITI on Monday that there is a significant possibility of Nigeria suspension.
The meeting was led by the incoming EITI Chair, Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt with civil society organizations also in attendance in Abuja.
“You have missed the deadline, we understand very clearly why you missed that deadline, and we have communicated that to the board alongside the letter that has been written from the NEITI secretariat,” the Deputy Head and Regional Director for Africa and Middle East of EITI, Mr. Eddie Rich said.
“I have to tell you; there is a significant possibility of Nigeria suspension, am sorry to have to say that is possible,” Rich warned.
In his reaction, the Acting Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr. Ogbonnaya Orji, assured that Nigeria would not be suspended by EITI for the delay in publishing the 2013 audit reports.
