Ibe Kachikwu
PRESS RELEASE—-CSR-in-Action Advocacy, in partnership with the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI; the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, FMPR; Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, MMSD; and other stakeholders, has announced the 7th Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI) Conference and Exhibition slated to hold at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on 21 and 22 May, 2018.
CSR-in-Action’s other partners on the conference include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC; Miners Association of Nigeria, MAN; and Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN.
Discussions at SITEI 2018 themed, ‘Managing Conflict and Security in the Extractive Industries’, will revolve around creating awareness about the causes, impact and management of conflict in Nigeria’s extractive sector so as to maximise the potential inherent in the sector. Discussions are also meant to inspire the government to develop and implement strong legal and regulatory frameworks for conflict and security management in the oil and gas and mining sector.
A statement by the organisers said the two-day event is structured to focus on various aspects of the extractive industries. Day One will focus on the Oil and Gas sector. Amongst several activities, there will be an open dialogue with Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and panel sessions on re-assessing the 12-point agenda to end militancy in the Niger Delta, and panel discussions, including one on ‘Pathways for natural resource management and conflict prevention – people, environment and infrastructure’.
Day Two will focus on mining with panel sessions on various topics, including one on ‘Cost of conflict with local communities’ and ‘Creating the institutional framework for conflicts and security management’. Both days will feature ministerial tours of the exhibition area.
SITEI was established in October 2012 in conjunction with the Deputy High Commission of Canada in Lagos. The annual conference, hosted by CSR-in-Action, is a platform that gathers key stakeholders in the extractive industries, government, CSOs, business, community, academia and the the media in an enabling environment to promote the cross-fertilisation of ideas and global best practices for the benefit of the Nigerian extractive scene.
Dr. Ibe Kachikwu had endorsed the meeting when in addressing strategic partnerships for achieving national economic goals related to the sector, he announced that “CSR-in-Action is [an] organisation which we are happy to partner”.
Co-Founder and Convener of SITEI, Bekeme Masade, Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action, stressed that this year’s event is geared towards Identifying tactics that would bring about long-lasting solution to conflict in Nigeria’s extractive sector to avert further downward spiral of the sector and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
Meka Olowola, Co-Convener and Chairman, SITEI Organising Committee, asserted that discourse on management of conflict and security in Nigeria’s extractive sector cannot be overstressed as the sector is vital and instrumental to Nigeria’s overall development.
SITEI 2018 will be declared open by Dr. Kachikwu on the first day and by Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, on the final day.
The Conference will attract active participation from several officials in key government and private sectors, including Dr. Maikanti Baru, GMD, NNPC; Ms Olajumoke Cecilia Ajayi, MD Asharami Energy; Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB); Waziri Adio Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency International (NEITI); Dr. Muazu Abdulkadir, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel; Nere Teriba Managing Director, Kian Smith; Babatunde Alatishe, Chairman Mining and Solid Minerals Group; Barrister Rose Oby, Vice President Mines, Abuja Chamber of Commerce; Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, Group Head, Sustainability, Dangote Industries Limited; Oge Modie, Chief of Staff, Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Charles Achodo, Technical Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Over 500 senior executives from the industries will also be in attendance.
