RemTrack technology will enhance transparency, accountability -NEITI boss

By Christiana Ekpa

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio, has disclosed that the emergence of RemTrack, a mobile application for tracking transparency and accountability issues in the oil and gas sector, will immensely add value to the work of his organization.
This was just as NEITI boss called on citizens of Nigeria to take advantage of the platform for healthy and constructive engagements.
Our correspondent reports that, RemTrack is a technology-for-development intervention built to organize the audit reports into user-friendly data on remediation issues, progress and outcomes of reconciliation, and the covered entities.
The app is designed for android and apple devices to be used in mobile phones and other hand-held devices.
Adio’s disclosed this on Tuesday, at the stakeholders gathering for the formal public presentation of the technology tool developed and deployed by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative in conjunction with the Civil Society Steering Committee (CSSC) of NEITI.
Delivering a keynote address before the unveiling of the app, the NEITI boss noted that the app is a major milestone in attempts to fix remediation issues arising from his agency’s reports.
He explained that RemTrack has come to simplify the process of tracking issues and implementation of recommendations arising from periodic reports of the agency, and more importantly, to involve all stakeholders, whether players in the sector, journalists, civil society organisations and all citizens who have mobile devices, in the process of remediation.
“This is a major milestone for the Civil Society Steering Committee but also for us at the level of NEITI and also for the country as other people have mentioned,” he said, adding that “this is something that all Nigerians should take credit for, especially the people who midwifed the process.”
The executive secretary, however, cautioned against viewing remediation in money terms only, while calling for focus on how to fix systematic procedural issues that keep knotty issues from reoccurring.
On his part, Mr. Kolawole Banwo, Chairman of the Civil Society Steering Committee of NEITI, said the RemTrack tool would enhance easy engagement by all and make accurate information readily available for use at any time.
Representative of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Babatunde Odu, expressed delight about the RemTrack app, saying it would aid the commission to effectively carry out its functions.
Remarking on the app, Executive Director of OrderPaper Advocacy, Oke Epia, assured that the app is not designed to humiliate or deride anyone, but solely for the good of country.