How Nigeria wins first position at OGP Global Summit & Awards in South Korea: NEITI

*The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Seoul, South Korea, recognises Nigeria’s commitment to integrating Beneficial Ownership Information, and applying same as a tool to fight insecurity, illicit financial flows, tax evasion and money laundering in the West African country

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The Nigerian Government’s efforts at setting up a Beneficial Ownership registry to end anonymous companies and its commitment to Open Government Partnership have earned the West African country accolades at the recent OGP Global Awards, in South Korea.

ConsumerConnect reports aside from Nigeria, other recipients of the awards were Tunisia and Ghana, which bagged the second and third places respectively for the Right to Information and Open Data Initiative in their economies.

Obiageli Onuorah, Deputy Director/Head Communications & Advocacy at the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in a recent statement issued December 15, 2021, in Abuja, FCT, disclosed the country won the first position at the Open Government Partnership Global Awards at the opening ceremony of the Summit of OGP member countries in South Korea.

Onuorah noted that Nigeria beat other countries in Africa and the Middle East that are also implementing the OGP to clinch the first position at the recent OGP Global Awards.

The statement said: “Nigeria emerged tops for the honour, following a painstaking independent review of reforms embarked upon by implementing countries.

“The review tracked and assessed milestones achieved by the Nigerian Government in setting up a Beneficial Ownership registry to end anonymous companies in the country.”

According to Onuorah, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) led the Extractive Industries Thematic Group that implemented Beneficial Ownership disclosures as part of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s commitment to Open Government Partnership in the country.

The organisation’s Deputy Director/Head Communications & Advocacy also stated that other agencies that worked with NEITI were the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and the Nigerian civil society representatives.

“In picking Nigeria for the global honour, the Summit considered the Buhari Administration’s overall commitment to reforms in the oil, gas and mining sectors and the governments support to NEITI to establish a beneficial ownership register of Companies in business in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Honourable Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning

“Also considered are the broader reforms in beneficial ownership disclosure by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) through the amendment of the Companies And Allied Matters Act and the recent Petroleum Industry Act, which made specific provisions for Beneficial Ownership transparency,” she said.

Onuorah further noted in the statement, that the OGP Summit in Seoul as well  recognised Nigeria’s commitment to integrating Beneficial Ownership Information, and using it as a tool to fight insecurity, illicit financial flows, tax evasion and money laundering.

Meanwhile, in his congratulatory message to Nigeria, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of NEITI, expressed delight that the international community is beginning to assess Nigeria efforts at fighting corruption and deepening its democracy.

Onuorah also stated Dr. Orji described the Award as impressive and most encouraging, considering the political will and enormous resources the government has deployed to reposition the extractive industry to benefit all Nigerians.

Executive Secretary of NEITI also complimented other sister agencies that worked with NEITI, the OGP National Steering Committee and the civil society for the collective success, the statement said.

OGP Award for Nigeria quite beneficial, timely ─Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, NEITI Chief

Orji remarked: “This Award is quite timely. We received the news here in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt venue of the ongoing Conference of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, with excitement.

“Nigeria is leading four other countries to introduce a Resolution that will recognise and use Beneficial Ownership information and data as an empirical tool in the recovery of stolen assets from developing countries.”

He further said: “The OGP Award has strengthened our position as we prepare to submit Nigeria-led draft resolution to the UN Conference of State Parties here in Egypt.

“I am here with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chairmen of the EFCC and ICPC, Registrar-General of CAC and our Ambassador here in Egypt”.

Dr. Orji further recalled that “Nigeria’s journey to beneficial ownership disclosure followed a trajectory.”

He said NEITI, December 2019, created a Beneficial Ownership Register for extractive industries companies and became the first in Africa to have such a register.

Orji stated: “In 2020, the Companies and Allied Matters Act was amended and mandated the CAC to establish and collect information on the real owners of all companies in a business in Nigeria.

“In 2021, Nigeria enacted the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and made copious provisions for beneficial ownership disclosures.

“Nigeria is also among nine the global EITI implementing countries of the Opening Extractives initiative.”

He as well maintained when Beneficial Ownership is fully mainstreamed into Nigeria’s governance culture, there will be public trust, citizen’s confidence, and increased revenue growth.

Beneficial ownership register has helped Nigeria to reduce corrupt practices: Minister

In the same vein, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Honourable Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, has also congratulated Nigeria on bagging the first position at the OGP Summit and Awards in South Korea.

The Minister was quoted to have said that establishing a beneficial ownership register has helped Nigeria to “track, reduce and arrest corrupt practices that are undertaken either by companies or beneficial owners of companies.”

Mrs. Ahmed  that once people realise that the information will be public, it is a significant deterrent to state capture.

Earlier in his remarks at the forum, Sanjay Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Open Government Partnership, has affirmed that the OGP platform seeks to ensure that governments and civil society commitments to specific reform programmes are turned into concrete actions in their various economies across the world.

OGP celebrating 10th Anniversary

The OGP is celebrating its 10th anniversary, showcasing how government and civil society partnerships have attained ambitious reforms and more robust results.

Over the past decade, 78 countries have engendered more than 4,500 reforms between governments and civil society, said the organisation.

Two thousand of these reforms were reviewed independently, out of which over 20 per cent were adjudged to have made governments significantly more open.

Therefore, among the reforms that the OGP considered is Nigeria’s Beneficial Ownership Transparency programme, which came tops and earned the country the first position at the latest OGP Global Awards, in South Korea.

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