By Abimbola Abdullahi
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is set to launch two publications that have direct impact on revenue management and governance of the extractive sector in Nigeria. The launch is scheduled to hold on the 6th October, 2020
The publications are: ‘Impact of Mining on Women, Youth and Others in Selected Communities in Nigeria’ and ‘Perception of the Impact of 13% Oil Derivation Allocation’.
The first publication examined the socio-economic and environmental impact of mining on vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Six communities across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria were selected. They include: Enyigba/Ameka in Ebonyi State (South East), Okpella in Edo State (South South), Ilesa in Osun State (South West), Maiganga in Gombe State (North East), Mai-Adudu in Nasarawa State (North Central) and Bagega in Zamfara State (North Central).
The negative media reports of mining development and the diversity of the minerals mined in these areas informed their proposition for the project. The choice of the selected minerals-coal, limestone, gold, Lead and zinc in the producing communities was to establish the correlation between the type of minerals exploited in an area and the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the mining activity on women, children and other vulnerable members in the affected communities.
The second publication-‘Perception of the Impact of 13% Oil Derivation Allocation’ looked at the management of the 13% derivation accruing to oil bearing communities in Nigeria. Spread, balance and cognisance of states already chosen for the mining research guided the choice of selected states in this project. Three oil bearing states within the 3 regions that produce Nigeria’s crude (South-South, South East & South West) were therefore selected. They are Delta, Imo and Ondo.
The launch of the publications will provide the platform for robust conversations with stakeholders on practical solutions to the issues of management of revenues derived from the extractive sector as well as how to mitigate the negative impacts of mining on vulnerable groups in the mining communities.
The publications were made possible through support from Ford Foundation and align with NEITI’s Strategic Plan which seeks to scale up the policy impact and relevance of NEITI’s work around extractive sector governance and accountability. They come under NEITI‘s Occasional Paper Series, Issues 7 & 8.
The unveiling of the books which will take place virtually through a webinar has Dr. Otive Igbuzor, a renowned development expert as the keynote speaker. Other experts in the extractive sector and public governance have also been lined up to speak at the event. NEITI will host the webinar at 10:00am on the 6th October, 2020.
