By Juliet Ukanwosu
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called for energy transition approach that recognizes Nigeria’s unique context, with homegrown solutions which must be equity-driven, informed by data, dialogue, and deliberate planning.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, made the call during his opening remarks at the inaugural edition of a strategic Webinar series themed “Balancing Natural Resource Extraction with Climate Commitment: A Critical Conversation.”
The Webinar was organized by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and Extractive360.
Explaining the objective of the Webinar, Dr. Orji said, “Our collective aim is clear: to spark urgent, informed, and inclusive dialogue on how Nigeria can reconcile its heavy dependence on fossil fuels with the existential imperative of climate action,” adding that “this is not just another webinar, but the beginning of a national policy discourse that must shape Nigeria’s development trajectory.”
According to Dr. Orji, who was represented by NEITI’s Assistant Director, Energy and Mining, Chineye Okechukwu, “the theme brings into sharp relief a complex dilemma: How do we pursue economic growth through natural resource extraction without undermining our environmental commitments, public health, and intergenerational equity”?
Orji stated that for decades, the extractive industries have been the backbone of Nigeria’s economy—generating substantial revenues, creating jobs, and funding national development. He added however, that this prosperity has come at a high cost: environmental degradation, polluted water bodies, gas flares that scar the night skies, and communities bearing the disproportionate burden of poor health outcomes.
He emphasized that the energy transition presents an opportunity, perhaps our last best chance, to rewrite this story. “It is a moment to reimagine our economy, recalibrate our development model, and redress long-standing injustices. It is not just about cutting emissions. It is about healing our environment, restoring dignity to host communities, and building a more inclusive, healthier Nigeria,” Dr. Orji said.
Dr. Orji informed that the NEITI National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) has approved a groundbreaking Energy Transition and Climate Accountability Framework, which represents NEITI’s strategic response to Nigeria’s climate commitments and the governance gaps within our transition journey, while calling on stakeholders, the media, civil society and citizens to partner with NEITI to raise public awareness, and hold actors accountable.
In his remarks, CJID’s Executive Director, Mr. Akintunde Babatunde, argued that Nigeria’s problem was not the lack of policies but weak governance structures that have failed to translate resource wealth into equitable and sustainable development.
Mr. Babatunde expressed that “extracting resources shouldn’t just be about how much oil or minerals we produce, but about how well we govern them, who benefits, who bears the costs, and whether we are protecting the long-term interests of both people and the planet”.
He warned that the ongoing push to extract critical minerals needed for clean energy technologies could replicate the inequalities and environmental harm of the oil era if reforms are not implemented.
Also speaking, the President, Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Dele Ayanleke, said poor institutional support was hindering the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale miners, many of whom contribute to environmental degradation due to poor practices.
In her comments, Tengi George-Ikoli, Senior Officer, Nigeria Program, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), emphasised that Nigeria’s greenhouse gas emissions and gas flaring record could affect how it is perceived internationally, especially as countries introduce tighter climate-related trade policies.
She noted that while Nigeria had introduced several policies in the upstream sector, major gaps remained in the midstream and downstream segments. “More needs to be done to ensure comprehensive oversight and regulation across the entire value chain,” she said.
For his part, Mohammed Aminu, Policy Manager, Clean Air Task Force, warned that critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, though central to clean energy technologies, could also pose new environmental and social challenges if not sustainably managed, thereby defeating the purpose of clean energy.