PIA: Rivers, Varsity to Sensitise Local Communities

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Government, in partnership with the Centre for Advanced Law Research at Rivers State University, and F1 Team Associates, has expressed its commitment to educate local government officials and stakeholders on Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provisions and their implications for host communities.

The two-day sensitisation programme is scheduled to be held on September 22 and 23, 2025, in Port Harcourt.

The Lead Consultant of F1 Team Associates, Jude Ndubuisi, during a press conference in Port Harcourt yesterday, noted that the PIA, enacted in 2021, is a landmark legislation that consolidates existing laws governing the Nigerian petroleum industry.

He explained that a notable feature of the Act is its dedication of an entire chapter to Petroleum Host Community Development, which introduces the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) and a board to oversee the Trust.

According to him, the innovation underscores the importance of community development in the petroleum industry, emphasising that the programme seeks to bridge the knowledge gap on the PIA, particularly among local government officials who play a crucial role in interfacing with host communities.

He added that by empowering these officials with authoritative and robust knowledge of the Act, the programme aims to facilitate the successful implementation of the PIA in Rivers State.

He said: “The two-day sensitisation series aims to ensure that the local government councils in Rivers state, being the closest to oil-producing communities with responsibility involving and relating to interface with host communities, are well informed about the provision of the PIA and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations 2022 made more swaths to the Act.”

Jude added: “We have laid down very strict regulations in terms of control, in terms of finance, and in terms of project management, and there is an overseer that is the Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), as the activities of the trust are dictated by laws.”

Also speaking, a Professor of Petroleum, Energy and Natural Resource Law in the Faculty of Law, Kato Kingston, said: “The PIA makes provisions for needs assessment. When you get the 3 percent, it doesn’t mean that the 3 percent will be shared as cash. That’s not what the Act says.”

Kingston explained that: “The 3 percent is supposed to be for development of the specific host communities, so along that line, the host communities’ development trust funds have trustees and they do what we call need assessment. What does each community need, a borehole or schools? So these funds are channeled into that, and I have witnessed a lot of them being implemented.”

Also, Prof Sam Dike, Professor of Energy and Comparative Environmental Law, stated that the gray area in some sections of the PIA would be clarified.

He added that more experts at the event would share their insights on the PIA and its implications for host communities, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of the Act’s provisions and applications.