The Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND), in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, on Tuesday, held a one-day awareness workshop on the implementation process of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for Host Community Development Trusts (HCDT) and community stakeholders.
The sensitisation programme, tagged: “PIA Awareness Creation Workshop’, was facilitated by the New Nigeria Foundation (NNF), and held at the PIND’s office at Egbokodo-Itsekiri, Warri, Delta State.
The awareness programme, which focuses on HCDT’s aspect of the PIA, started on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Yenagoa, and holding in five Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo, and Rivers.
The series of workshops are key components of The Bridges Project, a collaborative intervention by PIND and the Ford Foundation aimed at educating and sensitizing key community stakeholders about their roles, responsibilities, and expectations under PIA.
As a result, each session involves 100 participants drawn from the established HCDTs, key community stakeholders, and representatives of settlors/oil companies.
PIND’s Executive Director, Tunji Idowu, in an address on Tuesday at the workshop, said the sensitization “will provide stakeholders on the PIA process such as community leaders, youths and women leaders, representatives of government, settlers and NGOs/CSOs with pertinent awareness and education on the provisions and requirements of the PIA.”
Mr Idowu’s address, which was presented by PIND’s Advocacy Manager, Chuks Ofulue, said the programme was also designed to “Inform and clarify the roles and expectations of community stakeholders in setting up the governance organs of the HCDTs or the Boards of Trustees, Management Committee and Advisory Committee and the Overall implementation of the PIA.
“Build capacities of the civil society actors e.g, NGOs and CSOs working in the sector to enable them effectively perform required roles, that is, Community Needs Assessment exercises, Community Development Plans etc.
“Bring all community stakeholders, NGOs and CSOs to a discussion table and have them speak from an informed position on the PIA.”
Idowu noted that the session would also help towards awareness creation and deepening of knowledge of the PIA’s technical components among members of the HCDTs and community stakeholders.
He pointed out that the awareness creation session will, “Provide the Host Community Trust Members and community stakeholders with a deep and better understanding of the PIA,” vis a vis their role, and economic benefits to communities in order to engender peace and harmonious coexistence between the settlers and the communities.
Also speaking at the worship, NNF’s Senior Manager and facilitator, Eyitope Aremu, disclosed that there would be deductions of payment from petroleum host communities by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to take care of any act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest that causes damage to petroleum and designated facilities or disruptions of production activities within the host communities.
He explained that “the community shall forfeit its entitlement to the extent of the costs of repairs of the damage that resulted from the activity with respect to the provisions of the PIA within that financial year. Provided the interruption is not caused by technical or natural cause.-Section 257 (2).
“The basis for computation of the trust fund in any year shall always exclude the cost of repairs of damaged facilities attributable to any act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest. -Section 257 (3) of the PIA.”
With The Bridges Project’s overall objective aimed at ensuring awareness, knowledge, and understanding by all, the participants were allowed to raise pertinent issues that were holistically addressed by the facilitators at the workshop.
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