Douglas Blessing
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has sensitized host communities in the Niger Delta region on provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA ) which allows host communities to benefit from the resources that are extracted from their vicinity.
Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, urged host communities to make hay will the sun shines, by rising up to grab every opportunity of benefiting from PIA, before crude oil becomes obsolete in line with Nigeria’s commitment to energy transition.
Musa represented by CISLAC Programme Manager, Chinedu Bassey, spoke in Port Harcourt at the Consultative Forum on PIA Implementation, organized by the Accountability in Extractive Sector (AES) cluster, anchored by the CISLAC, within the framework of the SCALE project.
He said the sensitization was imperative to simplify some of the issues in the Host Community Development Trust Fund, a component of the PIA
and put it out for key opinion leaders for oil host communities, for them to understand the timing and the issues.
The SCALE (Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement) project is a USAID-funded five-year project (2021-2025) designed to strengthen the financial, management, and advocacy capacity of CSOs in Nigeria to create a more accountable, transparent, peaceful, and democratic Nigeria with more effective and efficient public service delivery.
SCALE is providing technical and financial support to 22 advocacy clusters to advance priority reform issues across diverse sectors.
Bassey explained “This is a continuation of the enegagments we have been having after the PIA was signed in August 2021. There are provision in the law which allows host communities to benefit from the resources that are extracted from their vicinity.
“However the people do not even know what’s the content of this law and the benefits that should accrue them, talkmore of taking action to activate these provisions.
“The law stated that host communities development funds and trustees should be established 12 months after and up till now, only few communities have set it up and this is 1year and six months down the line.
“My advice to oil and gas host communities is that they should rise up to every opportunity to get knowledge, bearing in mind that what we are talking about is actually a fleeting resources. Nigeria has made a commitment to energy transition and that means that in few years to come, we will stop using crude oil. Which means that the funds that is accruing from it will not come anymore. Make hay while the sun shines.”
Participants at the workshop who spoke to The AUTHORITY commended CISLAC for the programme, and promised to sensitized various stakeholders in their communities when they get back, so they can benefit from the PIA.
A participant and Spokesperson of Ibeno Elders Forum in Akwa Ibom State, Barr Diamond Akpanika, said Every community must stand up and get aware of their responsibility to get PIA working for them.
Akpanika also lamented that Exxonmobil operating in his community was yet to set up Trust for host communities more than 18months after the PIA became a law.
“I have learnt from the workshop that we host communities can actually hold the settlor (oil companies) accountable by notifying the regulators of their lackadaisical attitude towards establishing the host communities trust fund.
“I will enlighten and energize the people of Ibeno on the things that we are supposed to do to get the oil companies committed to the law. It is our responsibility to write to the settlors and copy the regulators, so that the regulators can keep the settlors on their toes.”
Similarly, Mrs Okorite Adiele from Bille community in Rivers State, describe the enlightenment she got from the workshop as cutting edge.
“It’s a cutting edge for us. We will get into action to ensure that what is due us on the PIA gets to us”
