Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSCON) has claimed that almost two years after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the amount of money oil companies owe them has risen to about N800 billion.
The National Chairman of HOSCON, Dr. Mike Emuh, while speaking to journalists in Abuja, said that the debts increased due to the lack of implementation of the three percent host communities’ development trust fund prescribed by the PIA. He added that the failure of the government to begin the full implementation of the host communities trust fund is the reason for the delay in the development of oil-bearing and pipeline impacted communities.
Emuh urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prioritize the development of oil and gas host communities as part of the measures put in place to address the marginalization of the Niger Delta. He noted that it was wrong to continue to pay the 13 percent derivation to state governors, stating that the money should be paid directly to the oil host communities instead.
In his own words, “the PIA made it very clear that three percent of the capital expenditure of the companies operating in the petroleum industry in a year should be given to the host community. This is the three percent host community trust fund.
“By next month, it will be two years since the PIA was created and we have not seen the implementation of the three percent trust fund. Last year alone, the fund was over N400 billion. This year we have another N400 billion, meaning that over N800 billion that is to be paid to host communities in line with the PIA is now outstanding.”
The HOSCON National Chairman explained that the communities are concerned about the delay in the payment of the three percent to be given to them as stipulated by the PIA, adding that since the implementation of the new law is in motion, there should be no further delay in the payment.