Blessing Iruoma
A non governmental organisation, Connected Development (CODE) in collaboration with Power of Voices Partnership and OXFAM has called for the fast implementation of chapter three of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which provides direct social and economic benefits to oil host communities.
The PIA 2021 was passed into Law to remedy the failure of the Petroleum Act, with aim to solve the age-old problem of oil bearing communities being devastated by the activities of oil companies through the establishment of the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT).
However, CODE yesterday, embarked on sensitization of stakeholders from the oil communities, for them to be abreast of the law and track the implementation for the development of their communities.
Speaking at the enlightenment programme held in Port Harcourt, Mr. Kingsley Agu, Programme Manager for Connected Development noted that the essence of the programme was to make the oil host communities understand the PIA and also teach them how to follow it up for implementation.
Agu, who is also the Project Lead for Power of Voices Partnership revealed that the organization is conducting a similar project for communities in Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Imo, Delta and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to the CODE project manager, it is the legal right of host communities to be part of decision making in the implementation of the PIA in their various communities.
“This is part of the activities of Power of Voices Partnership of all PIA project, implemented by CODE with support from OXFARM Nigeria. The essence of the event is to take oil host communities through the PIA 2021 that was signed into Law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021.
“We are taking them through the entire section of the PIA as an overview, dwell more on the host community development. The PIA has five chapters and chapter three focuses on issues about host communities, what should be done for them.
“Our focus is the fact that host communities needs to be given more powers, especially in the implementation of Host Community Development Trust. Because as it is right now the powers given to the oil companies needs to reduce a bit to enable the host communities participate and have some level of decision making in the implementation of the PIA in their respective communities.
“Secondary, we want to see a fast action from these companies to set up the board and quickly start the implementation of the chapter of the PIA in these respective communities”, Agu explained.
On his part, Charles Mffort, State Support officer for CODE, stated the need for the concern communities “to understand that what the government has put together is favourable to them since they are oil producing communities so that their communities can develop very fast better than they are now”
Mffort disclosed that participants at the enlightenment programme were selected from oil producing communities in 10 local government areas in Rivers State.
“We are picking gatekeepers, the chiefs, CDC chairmen, women leaders for the enlightenment because the they will go back to their various communities organise a town hall meeting where they will explain the PIA to a larger number of the their people”.
One of the participants at the programme and a native of Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, Mela Ake, expressed delight over the sensitisation.
Ake said: “I was invited here as stakeholder in my place, Omoku is oil bearing town that comprises of 27 host communities one of which is Aliohulu and I am the CDC chairman of the community.
“We know for the longest time many of our heros have tried to highlight the subjugation that faces the people of the Niger Delta and their communities. Going by principle of equity, if you take so much from a place, you should put in alot as well. So when you have communities that more or less enrich your country, there is a moral standard that you should give back to develop those places and also to mitigate environmental hazards that rises as a result of that oil and gas extraction.
“For a long time when we have Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it was not legally bounded and that created the need for an instrument that has the face of law and this is where Petroleum Industrial Act (PIA) comes in. It has sub sections that particularly addressed the development of host communities.
‘Basically, this workshop initiative by CODE is a very welcome development. Is going to open our eyes to what our rights are under the PIA and those who are here will in turn go home and enlighten their own people. We will raise our voice and ensure we do not lose out in the enforcement of those laws”, Agu added.