TITLE OF THE ARTICLE: Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative: The Watchdog of the Nigeria Extractive Industry
AUTHOR:
Christine O. Ike, Christine O. Ike, LLB; BL, LLM; Lecturer at Law University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. Email: christineike@unn.edu.ng.
ABSTRACT:
Nigeria has a long and tragic history of being stripped of its natural resources behind a veil of secrecy. This has not only been devastating to the economy but adversely affected the lives of the citizens in the sense that good governance has eluded the country. The culture of non-transparency and non-accountability had become so entrenched that when the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Act (NEITI) was still in the making, it was slammed by cynics as a non-transparent initiative; in the sense that nothing in the sense of change will come out of it. The Act eventually came into force in the year 2007, ostensibly standing on a tripod of Transparency, Due Process and Accountability, in order to entrench good governance in the polity. Eight years down the line, this article will appraise the role of NEITI to determine whether it has lived up to its billing as an initiative that has stemmed the tide of lack of transparency and accountability in the activities of Nigerian extractive industries given its avowed objectives. The article is descriptive and analytical, and will contend that despite the initial scepticism, NEITI has earned plaudits for its role in entrenching transparency and accountability in the journey towards good governance in Nigeria. It will make recommendations for increased power to enhance its future activities.