NEITI plans grassroots publicity for industry audit reports

THE Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is to take further steps aimed at scaling up its public education and disseminating industry audit findings to the grassroots.

It argued that citizens at the grassroots needed to be provided with information on issues bordering on management of the country’s natural resources.

The agency noted that the step would enable the citizens to effectively demand accountability from the managers of the resources.

Executive Secretary of the agency, Mr Waziri Adio, has already led the NEITI team on a visit to the BBC Media Action in Abuja where he stated that the partnership would leverage on the two organisations’ strengths on resource governance.

In a statement signed by the acting Director, NEITI Communications, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, Adio said: “When you dramatise the issues contained in the NEITI audit reports to educate the citizens of their role, the impact will be huge.”

He went further to say that the BBC Media Action had programmes that were very effective in creating the much-needed awareness and influencing high-level policy making.

Responding, Country Director of the BBC Media Action, Mr Seamus Gallagher, expressed optimism that the partnership would provide opportunities for the expected information dissemination.

He said: “Our mandates connect, but we can do more for our different organisations and for the country. We can help the media to communicate better with their audiences through capacity building while we reach the audiences and communicate with communities across Nigeria with our messages of transparency and accountability and ultimately help improve and bring about lasting changes in their lives.”