EITI Assessors Complete 2026 Validation Mission To Nigeria
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Nigeria’s progress in making its extractive industries more transparent is now before the global watchdog, following the completion of the 2026 Validation Mission by assessors from the International Secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
The three-member team, led by EITI Validation Adviser Riley Zecca, concluded its week-long assessment in Abuja on Friday after consultations with key stakeholders across Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining sectors.
The assessors met government officials, National Assembly committees, extractive companies, civil society groups, anti-corruption agencies, development partners, host communities and the media to assess Nigeria’s implementation of the EITI Standard since its last validation in 2023.
The assessment recorded excellent grades for Nigeria in areas including data integrity and comprehensiveness, although the final overall score will only be known after the validation process is completed.
The team also held a final briefing with NEITI Executive Secretary Musa Sarkin Adar and members of the NEITI Board, also known as the National Stakeholders Working Group.
The assessors are scheduled to leave Abuja on Sunday for the EITI International Secretariat in Oslo, Norway, where they will compile the draft validation report.
The draft is expected to be sent to NEITI in September for comments before the final report is presented to the global EITI Board at its conference in Brussels, Belgium, scheduled for October 5–9. The Board will then deliberate on and approve the final report for publication.
Validation is EITI’s independent quality assurance process for assessing how countries implement its standards on transparency, accountability and governance in the management of oil, gas and mining resources.
Nigeria last underwent validation in January 2023 and scored 72 points overall. The country recorded 52.5 points for stakeholder engagement, 71.5 for transparency and 92 for outcomes and impact.
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