Nigeria appoints a new national multi-stakeholder group

On 14 August, President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria appointed a national multi-stakeholder group (MSG) to oversee the activities of NEITI and implementation of EITI in Nigeria. The appointments replace the previous NEITI MSG whose four year term finished in 2011, in accordance with the NEITI Act. 

The MSG is to be chaired by Mr Ledum Mittee. Mr Mittee is a well-known civil society activist, and former Secretary and later President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People in the oil-rich Niger Delta. He has served in several Presidential Committees on governance, extractive resource management, conflict prevention, management and resolution for oil producing communities. 

The MSG is composed of representatives from government, including representatives of the six geo-political zones of the country, civil society and companies. The Group includes Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, the Executive Secretary of NEITI who serves as the Secretary, Faith Nwadishi, National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay, Dominic Nwachukwu, Ground Water Resources Ltd. and Bassey Ekefene, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The EITI requires that countries must have a fully operational national multi-stakeholder group to oversee the implementation of the EITI. In the case of Nigeria, the MSG oversees the production of NEITI’s financial, physical and process audits of the oil, gas and solid minerals sectors.