BY SAM OTUONYE

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in collaboration with Orderpaper-a parliamentary monitoring organisation is set to launch the Rembinar dialogue series.

Announcing the Rembinar series from the NEITI House, Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, informed that the Rembinar dialogue series is a dynamic virtual series aims at enabling in-depth discussions on transparency, accountability and natural resource governance in Nigeria’s extractive sector, particularly in relation to tax bill, climate change and energy transition.

The Executive Secretary explained that the Rembinar is an initiative under the RemTrack, a digital platform developed by OrderPaper to track remedial issues identified in the NEITI industry reports, and to enhance public engagement and improve transparency, accountability, and policy performance tracking in the country’s resource governance, including the petroleum, mining, and renewable energy sectors.

Speaking on the collaboration, Dr Orji expressed NEITI’s delight in being a key partner in this initiative.
“The Rembinar dialogue series comes at a critical juncture in our nation’s governance trajectory when extensive tax and fiscal reforms are being undertaken,” The Executive Secretary stated.

According to him, NEITI is leveraging on the Rembinar initiative to engage stakeholders as part of its mandate to promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s resource governance frameworks while exploring the interconnectedness between the extractive industries, emerging issues of energy transition, fiscal and monetary policies, driving accountability and best practices in public finance management.

The Executive Director of OrderPaper and Convener of the Rembinar Series, Mr. Oke Epia, expressed appreciation to NEITI for the collaboration and encouraged all stakeholders in public finance management to engage with the initiative.

Mr. Epia emphasized that the Rembinar series aligns with OrderPaper’s mandate to utilize data and technology to bridge the gap between parliament, policy, and citizens.

The Executive Director stated that: “OrderPaper has always been at the forefront of policy reforms and stakeholder engagements in the resource governance sector. The Rembinar series is one of several innovative tools being rolled out as part of our re-energized mandate to influence public policies in the best interest of Nigeria’s citizens.”

The dialogue series will focus on the tax reforms agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and its impact on the extractive sector. Taxation is a cornerstone of resource governance, directly affecting revenue generation, fiscal transparency, and economic development. The tax reform bills currently before the National Assembly aim to introduce significant changes that will impact NEITI’s audit processes, compliance mechanisms, and overall revenue transparency across the oil, gas and solid minerals sectors.

The inaugural episode titled: “Tax Bills and the Implications for NEITI Audits,” is expected to take place on March 3, 2025, at 11:00 AM. It will convene policymakers, government agencies, industry experts, and civil society stakeholders and the general public to examine how the tax reform bills affect the extractive industries, particularly regarding NEITI’s audit processes.
Participants will gain insights from distinguished speakers, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji and Dr. Mike Uzoigwe, Policy Expert on Natural Resource Governance among others.

The high-level expertise and extensive experiences of both speakers will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the evolving tax landscape and its implications for good governance of Nigeria’s extractive sector.

The first Rembinar edition which will be moderated by Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, NEITI’s Director, Communications and Stakeholders Management will address key issues such as an overview of current tax reforms and their impact on NEITI audits, alignment of tax policies with NEITI’s mandate for financial transparency and accountability, implications of tax reforms on compliance and reporting accuracy in the extractive sector, challenges and opportunities in implementing new tax policies, and strategies for enhancing transparency and accountability through taxation reforms.