The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called for a bold new agenda for civil society organisations (CSOs) to strengthen their role from watchdogs to knowledge leaders in the governance of Nigeria’s extractive industries.
This call was made by NEITI’s Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, during a courtesy visit to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in Abuja on Monday.
In a speech titled “A Call for a New Agenda for the Civil Society,” Dr. Orji emphasized the need for civil society to move beyond advocacy and into evidence driven, solution oriented engagement.
“The question before us is not whether civil society matters, but how civil society can redefine and strengthen its role to remain impactful in the years ahead,” he said.
Dr. Orji outlined areas where CSOs could play transformative roles, including tracking energy transition commitments, interpreting contract disclosures, analysing beneficial ownership data, and proposing fiscal justice policies. He stressed that the evolving landscape of global energy and governance demands a more strategic and knowledge based civil society.
“Civil society must evolve from observers to reform architects. It is time to elevate their roles from monitoring NEITI to providing broader oversight of the extractive industries,” he stated.
He also challenged CISLAC to lead the shift from routine civic bulletins to peer-reviewed academic publications that can institutionalise knowledge and guide policymaking in the sector.
On institutional support, Dr. Orji highlighted several NEITI initiatives to deepen civic engagement, including the reactivation of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team, creation of a national data centre, and partnerships with anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU. He invited civil society to take advantage of these platforms for deeper impact.
In response, Executive Director of CISLAC and Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, welcomed the NEITI delegation and reaffirmed CISLAC’s commitment to deepening reforms in the extractive sector.
“Your visit is not just a formality. It is a reaffirmation of our shared commitment to transparency, accountability, and reform,” Rafsanjani said.
He recalled CISLAC’s pivotal role in the early advocacy that led to Nigeria joining the global EITI initiative in 2003 and later enacting the NEITI Act in 2007. He described NEITI as one of the most strategic institutions in Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture.
Rafsanjani raised critical questions around the implementation of NEITI reports and their impact on communities in resource rich regions. He called for more deliberate civil society actions to translate transparency into tangible development outcomes.
“We must ask: are communities in extractive regions seeing the impact of transparency? Are we turning data into action?” he challenged.
CISLAC outlined areas for stronger collaboration with NEITI, including legislative advocacy, public awareness, and civic space protection.
Both leaders agreed on the urgent need for renewed synergy between NEITI and civil society to navigate Nigeria’s current economic and governance challenges, including declining oil revenues, the global energy transition, and emerging risks in the solid minerals sector.
The meeting concluded with a shared resolve to deepen collaboration and institutionalize reforms that ensure Nigeria’s natural resources deliver benefits to all citizens.
“The next chapter of Nigeria’s extractive governance will depend on how boldly civil society defines and assumes this higher responsibility,” Dr. Orji affirmed.
CISLAC pledged its readiness to lead and innovate, positioning Nigerian civil society as a global model for transparency and accountability in natural resource governance.