Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Prominent rights advocate and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana, has called for an amendment of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, to increase the 3% allocation for host community development to at least 5%, arguing that the current provision is inadequate to address decades of neglect and degradation in oil-bearing areas.
Speaking at the Ken Saro-Wiwa 30th Anniversary Memorial Lecture in Port Harcourt, Falana said that despite the introduction of the PIA, the benefits to host communities remain marginal and largely symbolic.
“Under the Petroleum Industry Act, Section 257 provides that 3% of the operating expenditure of oil companies will be set aside for host communities,” he explained. “That is not enough. Oil communities must get more — at least 5% — and it must be effectively monitored.”
The legal icon revealed that by May this year, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, announced that over N97 billion and $150 million had been allocated to host communities under the PIA, but transparency around the disbursement remains poor.
“We must all be interested in these figures and ensure accountability. Otherwise, these funds will end up like the 13% derivation, captured by a few while the real communities suffer.”
Falana called on the National Assembly to review the PIA, emphasizing that host community provisions should not only be symbolic but must reflect justice, reparations, and direct community ownership.
“The PIA must not serve oil companies alone; it must serve the people,” he added. “The Niger Delta has paid its dues. It is time for real compensation.”
He urged the Federal Government to ensure that the Host Community Development Trust, HCDT, structures are transparent, inclusive, and accountable to the people they are meant to serve.
