Vandalism: CSO, Rep, Others Demand Repeal of Law Shifting Liability to Oil Communities in PIA

NUPRC: 43 suits delaying setting up of community trusts

Some stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, including the Ford Foundation-funded Spaces for Change (S4C), the Chairman of the House Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Dekor and the King of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa, Bubaraye Dakolo, yesterday called on the authorities to expunge section 257 (2) from the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Essentially, the section deals with conditions under which a host oil community may lose its 3 per cent financial entitlements and shifts the liability for damage, vandalism or sabotage to the communities, which are expected to repair or replace damaged oil facility, and operating expenditure incurred during production shutdown.

But in a media presentation in Abuja detailing the report of a two-day stakeholders technical session held in Port-Harcourt, the chairman of the House Committee promised to work with his colleagues to see that that part of the law is repealed.

The event also marked the launch of a progress report on host communities fund document titled, "Transitioning from GMOU to HCDT: Wins, Challenges, and Further Actions.”

According to Dumnamene, as a piece of legislation, the lawmakers will continue to look at the grey areas of the PIA, including the part that compels communities to protect pipelines or lose their funds.

He stated that the wellbeing of host communities is essential to Nigeria's collective desire for a progressive and prosperous nation, since the oil and gas sector constitutes over 65 per cent of total government revenue and about 90 per cent of total export earnings.

Dumnamene argued that the country has failed to effectively deliver benefits of resource exploitation to host communities for nearly seven decades since the discovery of oil in Nigeria, stressing that this has had enormous consequences on the development of the oil and gas sector.

According to him, there have been some gaps and delays in the implementation of the provisions of the PIA concerning the establishment of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDTs), especially by some companies.

The lawmaker further informed that the committee has developed a strategic plan that will guide its programming for the period of the 10th National Assembly from 2023 to 2027.