March 9, 2023

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has reiterated its call for a deliberate policy to broaden women’s participation in the oil, gas and mining industries.

Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary, NEITI made the call on Wednesday in a statement in commemoration of the International Women’s Day.

Orji expressed regrets that in spite of the enormous potentials and capacity of Nigerian women in skills acquisition, sound education especially in the mining and geo-sciences, the oil gas and mining industries were still wrongly perceived as men’s business.

“A close look at data on gender from the NEITI’s Solid Minerals Independent Industry Reports shows that out of 102 companies covered by NEITI process, only 29 companies provided information and data on gender participation and employment opportunities in relation to women.

“From the report, out of the 5,820 employees, only 14 per cent of them were women,” he said.

Orji further disclosed that in the oil and gas industry, the ratio of men to women in terms of investments participation, job opportunities and beneficial ownership of oil and gas assets were even worse.

He reaffirmed the commitment of NEITI to work with women to remove structural barriers that impede women, girls, and other vulnerable groups from participating in sustainable natural resource management and other potential gender impacts of extractive activities.

“Already, many notable non-governmental organisations have been identified as key allies to NEITI to drive the process. They are Women in Extractive, Women in Mining in Nigeria, Association of Professional Women Engineers in Nigeria (APWEN) and the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ).

“Others include Extractive 360, Spaces for Change, Centre for Transparency and Accountability, CSR-in-Action, Kabetkache Women Development and Resource Centre amongst others.

“These are organisations in the sector, driven by reputable Women with track records gathered overtime in the extractive sector reforms and governance,’’ he said.

The executive secretary announced that NEITI has just concluded a scoping research study on enhancing gender equity and inclusiveness in managing the country’s diverse extractive sector and the environmental impact to women and their livelihoods.

He said the study focused on the impact of mining through the prism of gender inclusivity, while the research looked at employment opportunities, ownership structure and implications for decision making and benefit sharing for women in the industry.

He said the two reports would be released before the end of the March.

He urged women across the country to take interests in the NEITI reports and use the contents to demand just, fair and active gender equity in natural resource governance in Nigeria.

The international Women Day which is celebrated annually on March 8 raises attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

The theme for 2023 International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.