MON AUG 17 2026-theGBJournal| Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) are strengthening cooperation on transparency, disclosure and governance as Nigeria undergoes validation against the 2023 EITI Standard, with the outcome potentially shaping perceptions of the country’s petroleum-sector accountability and investment environment.
The renewed engagement followed a visit to the NNPC Towers by Gilbert Makore, EITI Africa Country Director, as part of the ongoing validation process.
The discussions focused on progress made by NNPC in addressing outstanding requirements, improving disclosures and aligning its reporting practices more closely with international transparency standards.
Makore commended NNPC for what he described as measurable progress in closing identified validation gaps, particularly in disclosures that increasingly reflect EITI expectations.
The engagement comes as Nigeria seeks to strengthen transparency across an oil and gas industry that remains central to government revenues, foreign-exchange earnings and investment, while facing persistent scrutiny over accountability, resource governance and the disclosure of petroleum-sector transactions.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the EITI process as an important platform for demonstrating the company’s governance practices and strengthening confidence among investors and other stakeholders.
“The EITI is a useful platform for attracting investment and building stakeholder confidence. It allows us to demonstrate our governance and transparency records,” Ojulari said.
Makore said the progress recorded by NNPC was significant to Nigeria’s efforts to meet the requirements of the 2023 EITI Standard.
“We commend NNPC Limited for the measurable progress it has made on the outstanding validation requirements and for improving disclosures that now track EITI expectations more closely,” Makore said.
The 2023 EITI Standard places greater emphasis on transparency, accountability and the disclosure of information across the extractive industries, including issues relating to revenues, contracts, beneficial ownership, state participation and the governance of extractive-sector assets.
For Nigeria, compliance with the standard is particularly relevant given the strategic role of the petroleum industry and the continuing restructuring of NNPC following its transition into a commercially oriented limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act.
The latest discussions included technical sessions between the EITI delegation and NNPC’s Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Division, where officials reviewed measures taken to address gaps identified during the validation process.
The EITI delegation included Makore; Validation Lead Riley Zecca; and senior officials of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), including Director of Policy, Planning and Strategy Dieter Bassi, Director of Technical Saad Balarabe, and Director of Communications and Stakeholder Management Obiageli Onuorah.
The engagement underscores the broader push to make transparency and disclosure a more integral part of Nigeria’s management of its natural resources, with both institutions expected to continue working towards closing remaining gaps and ensuring sustained compliance with international standards.
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