Oil industry: Nigeria ranks poorly in quality of governance

Nigeria is ranked fortieth out of fifty-six countries in the 2013 Resource Governance Index (RGI) of the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) which measures transparency and the quality of governance in the oil, gas and mining industries.

The report released yesterday and launched in Abuja by the board chairman for Zero Corruption Coalition (ZCC), Auwal Musa, also shows that oil revenue from Nigeria was about 60 percent higher than the entire international aid received in 2011 by sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite the huge earning, Nigeria earned a “weak” overall composite score of 42 over 100 within a multiple scale of “satisfactory,” “partial,” “weak,” and “failing” ratings.

The research, conducted by 46 researchers with expertise in the extractive industries and reviewed by 56 independent experts across various nations, showed a major governance deficit in natural resources around the world with the largest deficit observed in most resource-dependent countries, including Nigeria, where nearly half a billion people live in poverty despite the resource wealth.

The report was simultaneously launched by the Revenue Watch Institute yesterday in all 58 countries that were assessed, including Nigeria and the Washington DC. The 58 countries assessed in the index produce 85 percent of the world’s petroleum, 90 percent of diamonds and 80 percent of copper.

Of the 17 sub-Saharan African countries evaluated in the RGI, Nigeria trailed behind ten which includes Ghana which ranked 15th of 58, with a composite score of 63 over 100, earning a “partial” rating. Others are Liberia, Zambia, South Africa and Morocco which scored 62, 61, 56 and 53, respectively, to also earn the “partial” rating.

AMETO AKPE, Abuja