Communique_ BANGOF_BEITI.pdf (51kb)BEITI_Facts.pdf (221kb)
A bill for improved regional transparency and citizen budget participation has been under consideration since May in Nigeria's oil-rich Bayelsa State. On Monday, RWI partner the Bayelsa Non-Governmental Organizations Forum (BANGOF) gathered local groups to issue a joint call for quicker action on the bill by the House of Assembly.
The Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative (BEITI) bill grew out of a Bayelsa-based program for better collaboration between government, citizen groups and business. Revenue Watch was closely involved in the formation of the program, which has put Bayelsa State in a unique position to understand the challenges of subnational management of oil wealth.
BANGOF said that Bayelsa governor Chief Timipre Sylva initiated the original BEITI process "to open up the books of the state to the highest levels of scrutiny and situate Bayelsa as Nigeria’s most transparent state government." They called on lawmakers to "make good" on the governor's intentions by passing the bill.
Read the full statement from BEITI/BANGOF. (pdf)
Read an overview of the BEITI program from BANGOF: "What You Must Know About the Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative." (pdf)
