Nigeria won the award over other African and Middle Eastern member countries who were building a Beneficial Ownership registry to stop anonymous firms in their countries.

The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, congratulated Nigeria on the award and noted that establishing a beneficial ownership register had helped Nigeria “track, reduce and arrest corrupt practices that are undertaken either by companies or beneficial owners of companies.”

The Deputy Director/Head Communications & Advocacy of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Obiageli Onuorah, said in a statement that a lot of factors were considered before Nigeria was picked for the award.

Onuorah said the summit considered the government’s overall commitment to reforms in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, as well as, the support given to NEITI to establish a beneficial ownership register of companies in a business in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

Also considered were the broader reforms in beneficial ownership disclosure by the CAC through the amendment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the recent Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, NEITI’s Executive Secretary, expressed happiness that the international community was beginning to evaluate Nigeria’s efforts to combat corruption and improve its democracy.

He characterized the prize as “impressive” and “encouraging,” especially given the government’s political resolve and vast resources to reposition the extractive industry to benefit all Nigerians.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a collaboration of 78 countries, 76 local governments, and civil society organizations, representing over 2 billion people.