NEITI Hails PWYP Transition To Resource Justice Network As Bold Reform
By Stephanie Odiase
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has hailed the Resource Justice Network (RJN) on its recent historic transition from Publish What You Pay (PWYP).
NEITI described the move as a bold reform that strengthens civil society’s role in advancing justice, equity, and sustainability in natural resource governance, according to a statement by NEITI Director, Communications & Stakeholder Management, Obiageli Onuorah.
Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of NEITI, in a congratulatory message on behalf of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) and the NEITI Secretariat, applauded RJN for the courage and vision to embark on an internal reform that positions civil society at the center of global struggles for natural resource justice, energy transition, and human development.
The message by Dr. Orji, made available to Extractive360, reads in part: “This transition is more than a change of name. It represents a renewed vision and strategy that situates civil society at the very heart of global struggles for justice, equity, and sustainability in resource governance.”
The NEITI Executive Secretary explained that the transformation aligns with the expanding scope of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) beyond revenue disclosures to include beneficial ownership transparency, contract disclosure, open data, domestic resource mobilisation, climate change, environmental justice, gender equity, and the energy transition.
Dr. Orji recalled that since 2005, NEITI has worked closely with PWYP in Nigeria under the EITI process, witnessing first-hand, its pioneering role in reforms that reshaped the extractive industries, adding that “RJN’s emergence is not a departure from that legacy but an expansion of it, broadening advocacy to include civil liberties, climate accountability, poverty reduction, and human rights.”
NEITI commended RJN’s leadership for embracing inclusivity, renewal, and accountability, while urging the network to extend reforms to raising ethical standards, integrity, and professional conduct among members.
“This is crucial to sustaining the new image and ensuring that RJN remains a beacon of trust, independence, and credibility in the eyes of citizens, policymakers, and the global EITI community,” Dr. Orji stressed.
He further urged Nigerian civil society to move beyond advocacy for transparency alone and embrace a new agenda that connects resource governance with broader struggles for social justice, fiscal sustainability, environmental accountability, and democratic freedoms.
NEITI encouraged RJN to galvanise Nigerian CSOs into a united front “for resource justice, a movement that defends communities, challenges corruption and inequity, and ensures that Nigeria’s abundant resources translate into shared prosperity on a thriving planet.”
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