Prosperity through Transparency
Being the Text of an Address Presented by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, at the Opening of the National Stakeholders’ Retreat and Board Meeting of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Umuahia
Protocols
1. Every nation on earth has been blessed by the Creator with a rich reserve of natural resources to support the comfort and wellbeing of its population. Poverty and wealth are a function of how the resources are harnessed and distributed by the human actors. Where the resources are responsibly harnessed and the proceeds fairly distributed across relevant social and economic areas of need, prosperity follows and where they are extracted without considerations for the natural ecosystem and the proceeds not properly accounted for, poverty and underdevelopment become inevitable.
2 Our dear country Nigeria, merely on account of the abundant mineral resources buried beneath its soil, is a blessed land. While we may not have gotten everything right for reasons of institutional weaknesses and limited administrative insights, the good news is that we are on track to correct the mistakes of the past and move in a new trajectory as we work collectively as governments and institutions to develop critical frameworks of accountability, transparency and responsibility in the application of the revenue earned from our mineral assets.
3 Many commentators may be pessimistic about the future in view of the poor judgment of yesteryears but I have an unyielding faith in our capacity to turn things around and set new standards for development and prosperity. The Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has emerged as one of the key institutions of government working to set Nigeria on a new pedestal and like everyone in this room, I am proud of its pioneering works. May I also commend NEITI for the litany of transformative initiatives it has put in place to promote a system of transparent reporting and accounting of the revenue streams and general body of activities within the nation’s extractive industry.
4 On this note distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to happily welcome you to Umuahia, the capital of Abia, God’s Own State, for the national stakeholders’ retreat and board meeting of the NEITI. We are truly honoured to host the body of senior industry players, regulators and other relevant interest groups within Nigeria’s extractive industry architecture. Interestingly, Umuahia is also currently hosting the 18th Community of Practice meeting of the honourable commissioners of Budget and Economic Planning in Nigeria. It is noteworthy that two strategic national events are happening in our state capital at the same time and we appreciate the respective organisers for what is clearly a vote of confidence on the modest efforts we are putting in to remake our State into a hub of opportunities for individuals and organisations, public institutions and business concerns.
5. I would like to express my profound gratitude to NEITI Board led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, His Excellency, Senator George Akume, CON, for upholding the founding vision of the agency. As I had earlier hinted, I have no doubt that we would eventually get it right and with a man of Senator Akume’s stature at the head of the board, one can only hope for better days as NEITI continues to evolve new paradigms for institutionalising transparency and accountability in the extractive industry value chains. I would also like to publicly state that I am immensely proud of the excellent job Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji is doing as the Executive Secretary/CEO of NEITI. Dr Orji is not only a proud son of Abia; he has distinguished himself in the service of his fatherland and humanity at large through various platforms. We are also thankful to every stakeholder participating in this retreat for making it to Umuahia. I am optimistic that the deliberations and resolutions that would be reached at the end of this exercise would further consolidate the gains that have been made in optimising the reporting and accountability framework in our extractive industry.
6. As a State, we believe that the extractive industry holds immense potential for expanding the frontiers of opportunities for investments, job creation and widespread economic prosperity for our people. Thankfully, Abia is blessed with a rich supply of natural mineral resources that would guarantee the creation of hundreds of thousands of new job opportunities and also increase our revenue profile when fully exploited. We have since set up an investment vehicle called ABTAN Energy Limited, a joint venture that has the Abia State Government, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and a consortium of private investors as partners. ABTAN has been set up to drive investments in the State’s oil and gas assets in the most responsible way, ensuring that today’s activities do not present a threat to the aspirations of those coming after us. ABTAN’s protocol shall integrate NEITI’s reporting framework to guarantee that no stakeholder group, especially the host community, is left behind.
7. Across the developed world, the extractive industry faces an uncertain future as concerns over the future of the climate mount. However, as I had explained through my writings and public engagements, those of us from Africa and other parts of the developing world must never be stampeded to work on a timeline set by those whose development reality is in sharp contrast to ours. Even then, we must also be mindful of what is happening around us since the global economic system is interconnected. We are doomed if we stay fixated on a commodity that is of limited value to our trading partners. The cue is that we should, like everyone else, keep our eyes on what comes next. The good news for us is that we have everything it takes to also play big in the new energy order. With proven deposits of nickel, lithium, copper and iron ore in multiple locations across Nigeria, there is every reason to be positive about tomorrow — we just have to set and enforce the rules, and create a holistic framework for local and international investments.
8. The more fundamental thing is that no matter what energy path the world takes, NEITI’s role remains central. At gatherings like this, stakeholders are encouraged to pay attention to the unfolding dynamics of the old and new energy order to enable the development of appropriate paradigms for optimising operations and cutting out sharp practices within the extractive industry. Whatever happens, the best path for us would be to embrace the new opportunities that are bound to come with the transition to low and non-carbon energy sources.
9. As a State, Abia is steadily preparing itself for the future. We have installed thousands of solar-powered streetlights across multiple urban, semi-urban and rural communities to extend our daily economic window beyond the departure of the rays of the sun and improve security and public safety. Across our schools and hospitals, we are committing generous amounts of resources to expand our energy options through the incorporation of alternative sources; ditto for our administrative and other public institutions. This initiative has brought about massive savings in energy cost, improved service delivery and given us a sense of how to evolve a more holistic energy policy as a State. Presently, hundreds of young people are being trained to drive the installation and management of our new energy infrastructure and our people, ever entrepreneurial, are capitalising on the rise in demand for renewable energy systems to set up new business ventures.
10. NEITI would do well to pay close attention to the evolution of this new ecosystem with respect to the business of exploration of mineral resources. It should set up systems that are pro-Nigeria in terms of reporting and industry accountability. To avoid a repeat of the costly mistakes of the past, I will encourage NEITI to work closely with relevant industry players, especially sub-national governments and local communities, to establish a fair compensation model.
11. As many of you may be aware, the State has concluded arrangements for the setting up of a 10, 000 barrels/day modular refinery at the Abia Industrial and Innovation Park (AIIP) in Ukwa West Local Government Area. Talking of the AIIP, I am happy to announce that other players in the extractive industry ecosystem have also made commitments to set up facilities at the site. In other parts of the State, we are evaluating proposals from prospective partners seeking to invest in the development of critical mineral resources that are found in commercial quantity in the State, with particular reference to kaoline, granite, limestone and others. We are partnering with agencies of the Federal Government to explore and holistically develop the State’s rich deposits of natural resources and turn them into productive, revenue-earning assets. We are optimistic that everything would go well because we have secured the buy-in of the local communities where the minerals are deposited. May I then use this opportunity to serve an advance notice that at the appropriate time, we shall come to NEITI for support as we work to build an ecosystem that is transparent and value-driven.
12. As I conclude, permit me to spare a second to appreciate the efforts of the Federal Government in extending its infrastructural development footprints in the State, especially in the reconstruction of the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway and Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road. We are optimistic that sufficient resources would be committed to ensure the timely completion of these and other on-going federal projects in the State including hostels, classrooms and administrative offices at its institutions of higher learning, mass housing and energy development programmes across the State. The Federal Government has remained an active development partner and we would like to even expand the frontiers of that partnership on account of our shared development aspirations.
13. Once again, I would like to thank the NEITI management team for choosing Umuahia for its stakeholders’ retreat and board meeting. We are honoured by your friendly disposition to our State and assure you that we do not take it for granted. I encourage you to feel free to move round the State to visit relatives, old friends and acquaintances. You have nothing to worry about in Abia as one can move freely at any time of the day or night. Our stock of public infrastructure is also improving and wherever you visit, you would find ample evidence that Abia is on a new trajectory. We believe you shall come again as our doors will always be open to welcome you. My prayer is that your deliberations shall bear good fruits.
14. Thank you for listening. May God bless Abia State and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR,
May 7, 2025
