Stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have urged the host communities to leverage on the 3 per cent community trust fund provided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to prevent pipeline vandalism and ensure security of the critical infrastructures of oil companies in their domains.
They also called on the host communities to embrace the PIA's potential by ensuring its effective implementation, stating that with collective effort, host communities can benefit from the law and experience meaningful development.
Speaking at a town hall meeting on implementing host communities provisions in the PIA organised by the Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, and Mac-JIM Foundation in collaboration with Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment, held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital on Monday, Executive Director of The African Centre For Leadership, Strategy and Development, Monday Osasah, described the PIA as a significant step towards ensuring that host communities benefit from oil and gas operation in Nigeria.
The meeting, which drew stakeholders from civil societies organisations, community leaders, chiefs, opinion leaders, women leaders, youths, oil companies and government representatives, was aimed at bringing knowledge and information to stakeholders at ensuring everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in implementing the law.
Osasah emphasised the importance of needs assessment, security, and preventing vandalism to ensure the funds are utilised effectively.
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He said: "Understanding the concerns that the 3% allocation for host community development may be insufficient, however, it's essential to acknowledge that this is a new law, and we should focus on effective implementation. Our role as civil society organisations is to facilitate cooperation between host communities, oil and gas companies, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to ensure the 3% is utilised for the benefit of the people."
Also speaking, Executive Director of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Dr Emem Okon, said the gathering was timely as Nigerians are experiencing hardship occasioned by the continued rise in the prices of petroleum products.
She said, "The PIA and the host community development scheme should create opportunities for local communities to participate in the oil governance process and ensure they benefit from it. The most important benefit is improving the quality of life of community members."
