Transparency and public accountability: Does the Nigerian extractive industries transparency initiative deliver?

• NEITI is a voluntary, non-State governance initiative in the extractive industries. • NEITI reports provide a level of transparency through increased information disclosure about the extractive industries. • The limited transparency embedded in NEITI, low levels of technical and financial capabilities and the confidentiality clauses constrain public accountability. • While the NSWG is a mechanism for oversight and the CSOs act as surrogate interlocuters, their effectiveness to ensure good governance principles is hampered by the context. The extractive industries play a pivotal role in Nigeria's economy, yet it has been riddled with allegations of corrupt practices involving revenue transfers from operations to the government. To increase transparency and ensure public engagement, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) introduced the National Stakeholder Working Group (NSWG) as a mechanism to ensure public accountability and civil society organisations (CSOs) as the public interlocuter. To navigate this complex arrangement and critically evaluate its effectiveness, we adopt Boven's (2007) understanding of public accountability. We conclude that while NSWG provides oversight, the NEITI reporting process provides transparency, and the CSOs enable public accountability, these objectives are constrained by a challenging social and regulatory environment.