Nigeria has urged fellow resource-rich countries to transform the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) from a routine data-reporting checklist into a powerful driver of reform, accountability, and inclusive growth.
  
The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, made the call while addressing an international EITI Peer-Learning Session in Amman, Jordan.
  
The conference, organised with support from the World Bank, was designed to equip the Republic of Iraq with global lessons and practical models for implementing the EITI.
  
Orji explained that Nigeria’s EITI journey provides a living case study on how the initiative can be adapted to local contexts to confront the governance challenges of natural resource wealth.

“NEITI’s experience has shown that the EITI can deliver far more than public disclosure. It is a platform for institutional reform, citizens’ dialogue, accountability advocacy, and process re-engineering,” he stated.
  
He emphasised that peer learning is central to the EITI process, adding that Nigeria is committed to sharing its journey with Iraq and other countries in the Middle East, while also learning from their experiences to strengthen ongoing reforms in the oil, gas, and mining sectors.
  
Orji welcomed the invitation extended to NEITI to share its expertise, as Iraq joins the EITI as an implementing country.