Conference On Oil Sector Transparency , Good Governance Begins Tuesday

The civil society organization Social Action, in collaboration with the Gulf of Guinea Citizens Network (GGCN), the New Centre for Social Research (Abuja) and the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, (Toronto, Canada) is holding an international conference, Beyond Transparency: Oil and the Crisis of Democratic Governance in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, from 22 – 23 July 2014 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall, NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria.
Dr. Isaac Osuoka of Social Action and the Gulf of Guinea Citizens Network (GGCN) explained: “The conference objectives include presenting critiques of transparency discourses based on socio-economic realities of the states in the region and elsewhere, as well as the conditions in the sites of extraction. With respect to Nigeria and other countries in the region, presentations will examine the role and effectiveness of domestic and global regulatory bodies, including governmental and quasi-governmental institutions and civil society initiatives. ”
Dr. Ike Okonta further indicates, “The conference will provide opportunity for examining the interconnections between transparency in the oil and mining sectors and broader social processes for state-citizens relations, including electoral representation.”
“The unequal implementation of transparency requirements by so-called oil industry ‘host states’ and ‘home states’ is a significant issue in global governance of the extractive sector. Oil industry ‘home states’, like Canada, should ensure that their firms implement equivalent guidelines in their countries of origin and with regard to their global activities as are required of so-called oil industry ‘host states’, including Nigeria,” stated Professor Anna Zalik of York University.
The conference, which features prominent transparency experts in Nigeria, includes central addresses by Conference Chairman Professor Chidi Odinkalu (Chair, Governing Council, National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria) and by Keynote Speaker, Professor Sarah Bracking (University of Manchester).