Unless stakeholders including the private sector and the government engage in transparency and accountability, sustaining economic growth in the extractive industries may be a tall dream.
The High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Chris Cooter, disclosed this at a seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the extractive industries in Lagos.
At the seminar with theme: Sustainability in the extractive industries: Managing your value chain, Cooter noted that the bane of the extractive industries over the years has been the absence of early and open engagement among stakeholders including communities, which are affected by oil, gas and mine operations.
He said time has come for stakeholders to come together to ensure that most operations in the oil, gas and mining industries are carried out in line and accordance with international best practices and standards.
Mr Cooter said the era of shrouding the sectors’ activities in secrecy has to be dispensed with if the desired growth is to take place through investments.
He assured of his country’s desire to support Nigeria in its quest to entrench accountability and transparency in the management and administration of its abundant natural resources by providing the template adopted by his country and other advanced countries for consideration for use.
Besides, he said Canada is poised to bring more investments to shore up its $3billion worth investment that had already been made in the country. “So far, we have attained a major feat in our business relationship with Nigeria going by the kind of investments that we have brought here. The fact is that trade values have tripled during this period while investment is growing rapidly by the day. We are also expecting that significant new investments will come very soon to increase the $3 billion worth of investment that has been made already,” he said.
He noted that the business relationship between the countries was expected to grow by the recent launch of the bi-national commission, which was signed in April.
The High Commissioner said the commission, which focuses on security, economic and critical components of the economy, would provide the framework for adding momentum to the business relationship between the two countries facilitate opportunities, particularly in the extractive industries.
The General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA), Chevron Nigeria Limited, Deji Haastrup, said the sustainance of growth in the extractive industries should not be left alone to private sector as the government and other stakeholders including non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have roles to play in ensuring that the huge revenues realised from oil, gas and mining are monitored and channelled into other worthwhile investments.
He also said the country’s future lies in the diversification of the economy and the encouragement of entrepreneurship among the youth to reduce over dependence on oil.
He enjoined stakeholders to work together so that the challenges militating against achieving transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, which include lack of respect for rule of law and sanctity of agreements, poverty, corruption and inadequate infrastructure, can be overcome.
