PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has sacked Ogbonnaya Orji, who served as Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) since February 2021.

The president appointed Musa Sarkin Adar as his successor.

The Office of the Secretary of the Federation (OSGF) confirmed this development in statement by Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information and Public Relations. on Tuesday, November 18.

The ICIR gathered that Orji was outside Nigeria on an official trip when he was replaced by Adar.

Adar, formerly the Chairman of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), was officially informed of his appointment in a letter dated November 14, 2025, from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.

The letter stated that Adar’s tenure as NEITI Executive Secretary would run for a single term of five years, in accordance with the NEITI Act of 2007, and would take effect from November 12, 2025.

The ICIR reported how Orji said his tenure at NEITI was marked by significant reforms and capacity building in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

In an exclusive interview with The ICIR in September 2025, he highlighted achievements such as securing a permanent office for NEITI, increasing staff strength from 43 to 118, digitalising procedures, and advancing transparency in oil, gas, and mining contracts.

“When I look back — and you can cross-check from my staff — I’ve done all except one: the review of the NEITI Act. NEITI now has a permanent office building. I recruited 70 more staff, raising the strength from 43 to 118 as we speak. I expanded training opportunities. I reviewed upwards the salaries and emoluments of staff to boost productivity and morale.

“I also expanded international partnerships. Currently, in the process of digitalisation, we are building a data centre. My simple policy is that every staff must have tools to work — laptops, phones, everything,” he said.

He also mentioned that he played a key role in supporting the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and advancing contract transparency, revenue disclosure, and domestic resource mobilisation.

According to him, NEITI expanded international partnerships and advocacy initiatives, bringing previously opaque oil, gas, and solid minerals sector data into the public domain under his stewardship.

“Before, nobody had information on oil and gas — production data, export data, domestic consumption data, subsidy data. All that information is now in the public domain.

“For instance, I can tell you at the touch of a button how much Nigeria has earned from oil and gas since 1999 to date. We’re in the region of $831.15 billion between 1999 and today. In solid minerals, you have almost ?1.5 trillion between 2007, when we began to collect data, and now,” he added.

The reshuffle also saw Mukhtar Shehu Shagari appointed as the new Chairman of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)

Tinubu urged the new officials to leverage their experience to strengthen transparency, accountability, and effective service delivery in their respective agencies. (ICIR)