The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has been elected as a member of the International Board of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Mrs Ahmed was the former Executive Secretary of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). She is to represent 11 English speaking countries in Sub Saharan Africa on the board of the global organization made up of 50 countries. The countries are Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia.
NEITI proposed the candidature of Ahmed following her excellent service while serving as its Executive Secretary and the global EITI in the last five years. This was before her appointment as minister.
Responding to the news of the election, the Acting Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji remarked: “The election of the minister was an overwhelming endorsement of Member Countries of the EITI on the on-going reforms and the anti-corruption war of the President Buhari’s administration in Nigeria. It is also in recognition of the global acceptance of the impact of NEITI through courageous public disclosure of the lapses and corruption in the oil and gas industry over the years.”
The EITI International Board is the highest executive decision making organ of the world body. Mrs Ahmed is to join 20 other members of the board drawn from the six regions of the world.
The new board expected to be inaugurated at the 7TH Global Conference in Lima, Peru this month is to be chaired by a former Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr Fredrik Reinfeldt. The board is for a renewable tenure of two years.
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