By MAUREEN DICK
The House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities has called for the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) Host Community Development Trust (HCDT), for lasting peace in Niger Delta region.
Chairman of the House Committee, Dumnamene Dekor, made the call when he spoke at PIA Stakeholders’ Forum organized by the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) in conjunction with Ford Foundation held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday.
Dekor emphasized that the operationalization of the PIA, especially the section that has to do with oil bearing host communities will bring peace in the region.
According to him, it is not enough to have the passage of the PIA, but what is important is to make sure that the contents of the Act are made practicable.
He charged: “What we want to see is not just the act, it’s not the talk. We want to see the work. We want to see a situation where those communities and people around the communities see the benefits of what they possess.
“Prior to this time, we used to have the GMoUs and the rest of them. Those were the opportunities for our sectors today to just roll out what they just thought are necessary for us to get without knowing what or things we actually need.
“But, today, this Act, has been placed in your hands the necessary funds that would affect development in your communities. It is you (host communities) that would determine what you want, and not the companies that will determine what you want.
He charged companies operating the Niger Delta to show developmental commitments that would bring transformation in the region in the next five years, and urged communities to create friendly co-existence with the key oil players.
“Let’s go into programmes and projects that would trigger more development in our communities. If we can do projects and programmes that will affect them directly, peace will be here (in Niger Delta) with us permanently.”
Earlier, Executive Director, PIND, Mr. Tunji Idowu, said the group discovered that without proper enlightenment of the host communities on the contents of PIA, particularly the section that has direct bearing on them, conflict is bound to exist in the Niger Delta.
He said: “We saw that with the advent of the PIA, especially the Chapter 3 that has to do with community trust, that, if certain efforts are not taken, you will have what is the most significant developmental opportunities unravelled to become a source of conflict.”
He further noted: “We noticed lack of awareness, knowledge and understanding of what the PIA is all about; so, there was a huge gap of awareness and understanding and that’s why we under took awareness section; other civil society groups also undertook the same to make sure people become aware of what is required.
“The other one was capacity to conduct meaningful community needs assessment exercises that will translate into meaningful community development plans.
“We don’t want people spending all the money undertaking on elephant projects that will not be completed.