By Naomi Sharang
The Resource Justice Network Nigeria (RJN Nigeria) has unveiled a new strategic direction, transitioning from Publish What You Pay Nigeria to a broader focus on resource justice and environmental sustainability.
Speaking at the strategy launch and partners’ roundtable in Abuja on Wednesday, National Coordinator Erisa Danladi called the transition “an ending and a new beginning” after over two decades of advocacy.
“Today, we formally draw the curtains on over two decades of impactful work under Publish What You Pay Nigeria and begin a new chapter as RJN Nigeria,” she said.
Danladi highlighted the coalition’s legacy in promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive industries, especially oil, gas and mining governance over the past two decades.
She said the group supported institutionalisation of NEITI, strengthened monitoring of company payments and government revenues, and contributed to reforms culminating in the Petroleum Industry Act.
According to her, the coalition also supported recovery of millions of dollars in unaccounted funds and improved citizen participation in natural resource governance processes across Nigeria.
She said RJN Nigeria would implement its Strategic Plan (2025–2028), aligned with a global Vision 2030 framework focused on inclusive and sustainable resource governance.
Danladi added that the organisation would adopt an ecosystem approach, expanding beyond policy advocacy to build a broader movement for equitable and sustainable resource management.
She listed key priorities to include strengthening accountability in government and corporate institutions, protecting frontline activists, and enhancing community participation in decision-making processes.
The Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugor, called for a shift from transparency-focused reforms to a broader resource justice framework addressing structural inequalities in resource governance.
Speaking as founding National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay Campaign in Nigeria, Ugor noted the movement’s foundation in transparency, accountability and citizen participation in extractive governance.
He said Nigeria’s resource wealth, if properly managed, can drive sustainable development and shared prosperity for citizens across different regions of the country.
In a goodwill message, CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Rafsanjani said Nigeria remains richly endowed with natural resources, yet benefits have not translated into equitable national development.
He stressed that resource justice goes beyond extraction, focusing on governance systems, benefit distribution and decision-making processes within the extractive sector.
In a keynote address, Dr Otive Igbuzor said Nigeria’s energy transition must go beyond a technical shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
He said it should be understood as a broader socio-economic and political transformation anchored on resource justice, environmental justice and social justice.
Igbuzor called for a future where natural resources serve the majority, development is inclusive and sustainable, and justice remains central to energy transition efforts. (NAN) www.nannews.ng
NNL/TAK
Edited by Tosin Kolade
