Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has announced prominent Nigerian civil rights leader, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, as the new chair of its advisory board, following a board election held over the weekend.
The organization described its emergence as a renewed mandate to intensify its advocacy for the people, public resources and democratic space in Nigeria and the African continent.
Beyond his long-standing leadership in civil society, Mr. Rafsanjani also serves as Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) and Director of Transparency International in Nigeria. He currently chairs the Board of Directors of Amnesty International Nigeria, heads the Zero Corruption Coalition and co-convenes the Say No Campaign.
His work has spanned regional and global platforms, including his role as former representative of Sub-Saharan Africa on the Coordinating Committee of the Civil Society Coalition of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). A founding member of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), he has spent more than three decades promoting extractive transparency, anti-corruption reforms, human rights and legislative advocacy across West Africa.
In its media statement, CAPPA said it is confident that Mr. Rafsanjani’s formidable experience in anti-corruption campaigns and policy advocacy will strengthen its work across Africa. The organization noted that its leadership comes at a time when civic space is shrinking, state resources are being commercialized and communities face the double risk of economic exclusion and environmental damage.
The Advisory Board also includes Akinbode Oluwafemi (Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the Board); Evelyn Nkanga Bassey (Treasurer); Scott Pegg; Kayode Ogunbunmi; Betty Abah; and Doifie Buokoribo. Together, they bring deep experience in policy advocacy, environmental and rights activism, global development practice, and community advocacy organizing.
Speaking after his election, Rafsanjani noted that his priority is to more firmly establish CAPPA as a courageous guardian of the public good.
He highlighted the organization’s work in public health defense, environmental protection and extractive justice, democratic rights and defense of public services as core areas that will receive stronger institutional support and clearer strategic direction.
While emphasizing the need to set a clear direction for Nigeria’s mining sector, the board chairman lamented that “the global energy transition has triggered an aggressive search for lithium and other ‘green minerals’ essential for batteries, electric vehicles and digital infrastructure.”
He noted that while corporations present this as a new economic frontier (and the Nigerian government recently celebrated that the mining sector now contributes about 4.6 percent to the national GDP, compared to less than half a percent a decade ago), this growth is developing alongside land grabs, forced displacement, environmental degradation and the return of concessional-style policies in host communities.
The Board clearly stated that Nigeria risks repeating the tragedy of the Niger Delta, where oil wealth produced national revenue but destroyed entire ecosystems and livelihoods.
Rafsanjani therefore emphasized that unless the government enforces strict regulations, ensures community consent and ensures transparent governance, the country will simply replace one resource curse with another.
Furthermore, he urged policymakers to recognize that “there is no just transition if communities do not share their achievements.” CAPPA’s newly elected Board Chair therefore called for a people-centred resource framework that treats land, water, culture and livelihoods as more than just collateral for investment.
The Board also urged Nigerians to question any development model that enriches a few while displacing many and devastating the environment.
Reaffirming its commitment, the CAPPA Board pledged to expand partnerships with labor movements, grassroots organizations, women’s groups, youth formations and community advocates across the continent.
He also declared that “the fight for accountability and public participation is a fight that cannot be won by scattered voices.”