Newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, has vowed to spearhead a comprehensive amendment of the NEITI Act 2007, calling the existing law outdated and insufficient for current governance and compliance needs.
Speaking to management and staff at NEITI’s Abuja headquarters, Adar, who assumed office on Tuesday, said the 17-year-old legislation no longer grants the agency adequate institutional authority to enforce compliance or fully implement its mandate of promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
Updating the law, he emphasized, will form the cornerstone of his reform agenda.
“To strengthen transparency, enforce compliance, and secure better outcomes for the country, the legislation must be updated,” Adar stated, explaining that modernizing the Act would provide NEITI with the legal tools necessary to expand reforms, reduce leakages, enhance governance, and position Nigeria for a successful Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative validation scheduled for July 2026.
Adar acknowledged NEITI’s role in shaping national policy and building public trust through its audits and reports but stressed the need to increase the agency’s visibility, relevance, and enforcement capacity.
Drawing on his 16 years of legislative experience and tenure as Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Upstream, he pledged to ensure the continued publication of credible industry reports and the implementation of stronger mechanisms to prevent revenue leakages.
He further outlined plans to advance beneficiation and value addition in Nigeria’s mineral sector, aiming to drive sustainable economic growth over the long term.
