CISLAC Trains Journalists in Akwa Ibom to Investigate Fiscal Accountability in Extractive Industries
By Ekemini Simon
Select journalists in Akwa Ibom State have been trained on uncovering and reporting issues of fiscal mismanagement and lack of transparency in the extractive industries.
Akwa Ibom State since the 1960s have played host to oil and gas companies with the extractive industries playing significant role in the economy of Nigeria yet burdened by issues of fiscal mismanagement and lack of transparency.
The 2-Day workshop training carried held in Uyo by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and other partners on behalf of Fair Finance Nigeria (FFNG) campaign, and supported by Fair Finance International and Oxfam in Nigeria witnessed select journalists in the State equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively report on fiscal accountability in the extractive sector.
In his welcome remarks, of CISLAC, Ayo Omowu, said there is need for journalists especially in extractive communities to be more interested in reporting the sector since the chunk of the revenue comes from there coupled with the fact that the sector is an avenue for illicit financial flow.
The Technical Programme and Communications Specialist said journalists need to do more investigations on Environmental, Social and Governance standards of oil companies as well as financial institutions operating in the area.
He charged journalists to come up with detailed and factual reports that would enlighten the communities of their rights, especially those negatively impacted by the activities of extractive industries, thus prompting them to ask questions and demand proper accountability from oil companies regarding the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Omowu called on journalists to investigate the number of settlors that have established the Host Community Development Trust funds, HCDTF, remitted accurately, the 3 percent Opex as provided by the PIA to the trust and published the amount that was remitted.
He said there is urgent need for journalists to also investigate the activities of the regulatory body, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) whose oversight actions or inactions can affect the beneficiation of the host communities from the extractive industries around them.
Omowu said, “We want journalists that would conduct investigations into the extractive industries, the level of implementation of the PIA to expose some shady deals happening in the system.
“So we feel the need to train journalists on having the requisite tools for accountability and equity as it concerns host community development trust. We also want to see the level of implementation of oil companies concerning the 3 percent OPEX to host community trust, and how much has been remitted so far.”
He pointed out that investigations into the extractive sector would not only uncover the rot and opacity therein but would bring about financial transparency and development of the impacted communities in Akwa Ibom.
Also speaking, Abdulazeez A. Hussaini of Connected Development (CODE) said it was high time journalists became more interested in asking questions on what, where and how the resources meant for the development of the extractive communities were expended.
He said the Freedom of Information Act equips the media to probe and ask pertinent questions and so they should maximize the opportunity for the benefit and development of the communities.
Hussaini recommended that journalists should utilize public documents like the NEITI Audit Reports, NUPRC Annual Reports, annual and financial reports of oil companies, work in partnership with the CSOs, whistle-blowers and insider sources to get correct data that would aid them in their investigations and in holding those in authority accountable.
He added ” Journalists can work as a coalition, especially in a situation where someone feels he has a genuine and strong report that his/her medium may not be willing to publish because of seeming interest, or you don’t have a platform you can contact the CSOs. That is the collaboration we are talking about. We want journalists to focus more on issues that are ESG related as long as finances are concerned from the extractive Industry.”
On his part, Harry Udoh, the Executive Director of Steps to Sustainable Transformation and Empowerment Foundation (STEP) said aside from the extractive sector, journalists should also investigate and write about issues happening within the financial sector to ensure banks are operating within the realms of the ESG. He noted that the level of environmental devastation caused by the activities of the IOCs and the illicit financial flows around the banking sector calls for investigations by journalists.
His words, “Journalists should be able to know the relationship between NUPRC and the settlors, how many host communities have set up their trust and how many of them have started implementing the project, how much has been paid because, without transparency and accountability in the process, we will end up having these monies spent and 20 years down the line the communities remain the same. The NUPRC should be held responsible for oversight to know how much is given to HCDT by the settlors and monitor how the money is spent.
Ibanga Isine, a Multiple international award-winning journalist took journalists through the rudiment of investigative journalism and ethical compliance.