From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Spaces for Change (S4C), with support from the Ford Foundation, on Wednesday , released a report titled: “Transitioning from GMOU to HCDT: Wins, Challenges and Further Actions” on Wednesday as part measures to curb the crisis between oil producing companies and their host communities in the Niger Delta region.
The House Committee on Host Communities’ Chairman, Dumnamene Dekor, stated that the study, which reflects the views of all parties, was imperative to bolster the execution of the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021.
Dekor said: “The report we have is the opinion of all parties which we believe is going to strengthen the implementation of the PIA, that is what we are launching today” he said.
He added that the innitiative would also guarantee the verification of claims of Operational Cost, OPEX, of the oil companies,
“We want to be sure that what is declared as the 3% OPEX is actually the 3% OPEX, meaning that the host communities must also be part of coming to that 3%, because you know, if I don’t know what you are spending as 3% Operational expenses, what is the 3% you are giving to me. So to that extent, we want a seamless thing where everybody will be part of it. And it becomes very transparent.”
Also speaking, the Director of S4C, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, explained that the document is the report of the Technical Session of the Nigerian House of Representatives’ Committee on Host Communities which examines the extent to which indigenous and international petroleum companies are living up to their legal obligations to deliver social and economic benefits to the oil-producing areas in Nigeria through the new mechanism called “Host Community Development Trusts (HCDT).
Ibezim-Ohaeri pointed out that despite all of its successes, the organisation had been able to pinpoint certain challenges and shortcomings in the HCDT’s implementation through its interactions with the stakeholders.
She said: “So Space for Change prepared this report that we are launching today, and it is a report on the technical session of the House of Representatives Committee on this matter m. We unveiled the technical session last November, and we brought the indigenous and international oil companies to give an account of the modalities and the steps they were taking to establish the host community’s development fund as required by the chapter three of the PIA.
“So during the over the two days workshop in PortHarcourt, we listened to the host communities, we listened to the IOCs, we listened to the oil companies, the regulators as well as the civil societies and shared different perspectives.
“Some things emerged from that conversation. We heard a lot of the challenges that trailed the implementation of HCDTs across the Niger Delta communities that were present. Also, we identified some good practices that some of the companies were doing. We also found some things that some of the regulators were doing, despite all of the positive steps that have been taken, a number of gaps remain and why we have put it together is to identify what the good practices and the contentious issues that remain resolved.
On his part, Hart Cyril, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Bonny/Degema Federal Constituency, also spoke during the event. He bemoaned the fact that, despite the PIA’s authority to force the NUPRC to revoke the licences of any oil companies that break the laws of the host communities, the agency is not perceived to be taking any action in that regard.