Newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, has pledged to pursue a comprehensive amendment of the NEITI Act 2007, describing the current legislation as outdated and insufficient for today’s governance and compliance realities.
Speaking during his first address to management and staff at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, Adar said the 17-year-old law no longer provides NEITI with the institutional authority required to enforce compliance or fully carry out its mandate of promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive industries.
He emphasised that updating the legislation would be the centrepiece of his reform agenda.
According to him, strengthening the Act will provide NEITI with modern legal tools to deepen reforms, curb revenue leakages, reinforce governance standards, and prepare Nigeria ahead of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) validation scheduled for July 2026.
“To strengthen transparency, enforce compliance, and secure better outcomes for the country, the legislation must be updated,” he said.
Adar noted that NEITI’s audits and industry reports have shaped national policy and boosted public trust over the years, but stressed the need for improved visibility, relevance, and stronger enforcement capacity. Leveraging his 16-year legislative experience and previous role as Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Upstream, he pledged continued publication of credible reports and enhanced mechanisms to plug leakages across the sector.
He also highlighted plans to drive beneficiation and value addition across Nigeria’s mineral resources, saying the initiative will support long-term economic growth and maximise the country’s extractive potential.
