PIA: A Corporate Attempt To Colonize Host Communities

The signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 16, 2021, had raised more questions than answers as the provision of the new Act seemed not to have gone well down with the host communities.

The Petroleum Industry Act which created new regulatory directions for the operators and host community was promulgated to address the differences among the oil companies and host-com.

At the NBA Warri, fifth Webinar Series titled, “PIA and Implications for Development of host communities,” held recently, the body condemned the Act and called for its amendment.

Reacting to the provisions of Chapter Three of the PIA, NBA Warri described it as a corporate attempt to ‘colonize’ host communities, lamenting that the settlors have excessive control over the host communities.

In her explanation, “Oil Companies may decide the traditional rulers of our communities since appoint an advisory committee.”

They explained that PIA ought to go beyond project execution at host-com to accommodate community impact agreement to proffer solutions to environmental degradation.

The settlor (operator/oil company) appoints the board of trustees (BoT) of the trust fund even though the PIA and the host community regulators require that the settlor makes the appointment in consultation with the community.

“We have a situation where the company will directly or indirectly be the one determining who would be the traditional ruler of our community because all our financial resources are in their control.

“It is a creek gift; a Trojan horse to our communities where the implication is bigger than the benefit. There is going to be a huge shift as there is excessive bureaucracy.”

Outlining the benefit of PIA, the body noted that it is the first statutory recognition in the scheme of things, adding that its implementation will elicit a development culture in the communities.