The Amalgamation of Ilaje Ugbo Coastal Communities Association (AMAICOMMA CCDC) on Sunday sensitised community leaders and members under Chevron Nigeria Ltd. (CNL) Offshore Memorandum of Understanding (OMoU) on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and its implications.
The stakeholders meeting which was part of efforts to improve community relations and communications in the CNL OMoU communities governance model, was also to create an interaction platform between community members and the new AMAICOMMA CCDC executives.
The stakeholders’ meeting tagged: “How To Cope in the New Order: Petroleum Industrial Act As A Case Study”, held at Obamakin Osangangan Hall in Ode Ugbo, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Wole Ogungbeje, Chairman, AMAICOMMA CCDC, said that President Muhammadu Buhari signed the PIA in 2021 with the intention of encouraging an atmosphere favourable for development of the sector.
He said the PIA was also signed to address the genuine complaints of the host communities impacted by extractive industries.
He added that the act seeks to provide legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry.
Ogungbeje said that the PIA would further strengthen the relationship between the oil companies and the host communities as well as create the Host Community Development Trust Fund (HCDTF).
“The purpose of HCDTF will include driving sustainable prosperity, make available direct social and economic benefits from petroleum exploration activities to host communities.
“The HCDTF will also improve peaceful and harmonious coexistence between the oil companies and their host communities,” he said.
Ogungbeje said that the PIA demanded that all current host community projects must be transferred to the HCDTF.
According to him, each settlor (oil license holder) must also make an annual contribution of an amount equal to three per cent of its operating expenditure for the relevant operations from the previous year.
He also said that the current OMoU governance model would be transitioning into the PIA in the next few months, as plans were currently ongoing for the transitioning.
Ogungbeje, however, assured the community members that the benefits of oil exploration in their communities would be further enhanced with the PIA, as members of the HCDTF would still be community members with proven capacity for development.
Responding, one of the community leaders, Chief Alicheus Jedo of Jedo Community, thanked the AMMAICOMMA CCDC executives for the sensitisation which he said had cleared a lot of information gaps and confusion about the PIA.
“With the sensitisation, we l are now looking forward to a new phase of development in the communities, which we hope will be inclusive and participatory,” he said.
Jedo urged the AMAICOMMA CCDC to make such information sharing sessions more regular.
The stakeholders meeting was attended by community chiefs, leaders, members and other stakeholders.
