REPORT FOR A TWO DAY TRAINING ON PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ACT(PIA) AND FREE PRIOR INFORMED CONSENT(FPIC) HELD BETWEEN WEDNESDAY 15 AND FRIDAY 17, NOVEMBER 2023 AT RENTO HOTEL AND SUIT OWERRI, IMO STATE.
- The training event was anchored by KEBETKACHE Woman Development and Resource Center based in Portharcourt Rivers State.
- KEBETKACHE is a non governmental organization that is working on the sponsorship of Ford Foundation in Nigeria and African Region to promote Women’s right and environmental justice. KEBETKACHE is rooted in Communities in the Niger Delta and is recognized for its indepth knowledge on issues of environmental justice, Women rights as well as climate crises.
- It drives its focus mainly on Women in rural Communities of the Niger Delta region.
- It is enviably committed to building an eco-feminist movement in the Niger Delta that will see women leading advocacy action for gender justice and climate actions.
- KEBETKACHE was of a considered opinion that PIA and FPIC were important tools to bringing the Host Communities in the Niger Delta region where Nigeria’s main petroleum production is uninterruptedly going on to be fully aware of the opportunities provided by Nigerian government and the United Nations General Assembly to access Information inorder to position itself for lasting benefits presented by the PIA and FPIC.
- The training event brought together Community Representatives drawn from Oil producing Communities of Imo State, Civil Society Organizations drawn from respective states of the Niger Delta; in Abia State, Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Developed (FENRAD NIGERIA) was unarguably represented by its program officer Comrade Nwaigwe Henry Okebugwu. The Traditional institution of Imo State was represented by the Paramount Ruler of Egbema kingdom who doubled as the Chairman Imo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (ISOPADEC). He was conspicuously present in the two day training sessions.
- The day one of the training event was focused on Petroleum Industry Act. Its paper was delivered by Comrade Henry Eferegbo. He highlighted few points to bring participants attention to what PIA has come to build following the enactment of Petroleum Industry Bill by the National Assembly in 2021 that captured three Percent (3%) funding for host community development. According to him; the objectives of PIA were hinged on the following pedestals:
- To foster prosperity within the host Community.
- To provide direct social and economic benefits from petroleum operations to the host community.
- To reposition the host community to continually access developmental needs as part of corporate social responsibility from the corporate actors that operates in its land.
- To give the community legal rights to ask questions about the management and accountability in the Oil industry.
- He stressed that for effective implementation of the process of host community development funding, the PIA recognizes a commission called; Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission(NUPRC). The Commission shall oversee and ensure proper management of the trust fund in collaboration with the legally recommended stakeholders which includes:
- Board of Trustees (BOT) that shall be incorporated with a name synonymous with respective host Communities eg: “Egbema Host Community Development Trust”
- The Settlor that operates in a certain area shall have sixty days to incorporate governance structure for implementation of the 3% for host community failure shall pay to the commission Two thousand five dollars ($2,500) daily as penalty.
- He said that one hundred and eighty Communities were mapped out to benefits from the 3% funding of host community, out of the 187, one hundred and seven are outstanding waiting for consideration while fifty seven were considered, thirty seven out of it have been funded to the tune of Two Hundred Million Naira each.
- He said that PIA has legally offered NUPRC with the responsibility of liaising with operating company (Settlor) to set up the host community development trust (HCDT) for purposes of managing the three Percent (3%) that is provided by the Settlor from its operating cost on annual bases.
- He said that needs assessement was one of the standard measures to determine project prioritization that will be executed in the order of funding allocations that will scaled according to production or Oil installation status of the host community.
- At the end of his presentation, participants were asked to approach relevant bodies saddled with the duties of funding to determine if their community; has the statutory position to be admitted into the host community development trust and those already admitted should find out if theirs have been funded.
The day two of the training event featured Comrade Green Isaac who delivered paper on FREE PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT(FPIC). In his presentation, he drew the participants attention to: - The definition of EPIC and why it is necessary to employed it at the first entrance of any company into the host community.
- Providing the definition, he said that it is important to note that EPIC is referred to as a specific right to an individual which was declared by the United Nations General Assembly. He said that it is a decision making process which must be achieved with the following procedures:
- Identify your needs
- Have legal advise
- Take decision together
- Make informed decision
- He said that as indigenes of the host community, you are free to declare your position to any company entering one’s community which will eventually lead to signing of documents containing terms and conditions that must be respected by both parties for freedom to operate (FTO).
- He said that FPIC was created in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly. In the same year it was adopted by the Assembly as the declaration on the right of indigenous people.
- He said that it is important to note that the free prior and informed consent is a legal requirement in the international hard and soft laws. This is why it is important that each community must have terms and conditions before given consent upon receiving any company entering one’s community for operation of any kind.
- He said that for effective application of EPIC to make PIA issue well tackled, there must be availability of human rights defenders, community representatives must be well informed to engage corporate actors for fruitful benefits in the process of operations.
- At the end of the presentation, participants were directed to ensure that a stepdown is drawn to the respective Communities with view to gaining insight on the application of PIA and FPIC as it is better to pull out when agreeable terms are no longer being respected by the operating company.
- The following measures were adopted as communique:
- To design Community needs assessement based on priorities.
- What should be done as participants retire to their homes.
- To ascertain if your HCDT has been created and funded.
- How would the amount in the value of the 3% by the Settlor be made public to the host community.
- The respective host Communities intending to be part of host community development trust funding must ensure that the selection or nomination process of Board of Trustees, non executive management committee and Advisory committee representatives for effective host community development operations must go inline with the standard requirements recommended by the section of the PIA.
- The community representatives so selected by community stakeholders must meet the qualify procedures to drive a satisfactory process of representation in the tenure-ship period of four years renewable by another four years and it ends.
- Contact phone numbers and Email address of NUPRC were donated to aid interested participant to enquire about the position of their communities interms of HCDT creation and funding.
- Email address: servicon@nuprc.gov.ng
- Phone numbers: 09013331111, 07055622222
Reported by Comrade Nwaigwe Henry Okebugwu
Program Officer.
FENRAD NIGERIA.
