The Chairman, Senate Committee on Host Communities, Benson Agadaga, has charged the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to take stringent measures against International Oil Companies (IOCs) that fail to adhere to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) directives on setting up and implementing the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT).
 
Agadagba acknowledged that there is reduced hostility in the oil industries and also relative peace in the Niger Delta region due to the achievements of the PIA through HCDT. He warned that defaulters of the law will surely be sanctioned. 
 
He stated this during the commissioning of seven key projects by Total Energies at the Obagi Oilfield Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) in OML58 in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Council Area of Rivers State on Wednesday. 
 
The projects, which spanned through infrastructure, health facilities, agriculture, livelihood support, human capacity development, and economic empowerment, among others, were sequel to the establishment of the HCDTs under the PIA 2021, which placed communities at the centre of development planning and execution.

Accordingly, the execution of the projects by Total Energies is aligned with the implementation of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Speaking at the event, Agadagba said: “Host communities are no longer as hostile as before, because all of us are expecting that the PIA will give us the required dividends, and now we are seeing them. 
 
“There is a pronouncement on the PIA for IOCs to set up the HCDT, and where they fail to do so after three months, they will be sanctioned.  Those who have not done it will be sanctioned because this is the only hope of peace and stability in the oil-producing areas. 
 
“We no longer want disruptions in our productions; we need maximum production, we need to meet up with targets of at least two million barrels per day. So, we don’t want any interruptions.”
 
He challenged other host community development trusts, which are yet to implement theirs, to emulate what the Obagi HCDT has done.  He described the projects as significant, urging the youths to own and protect the projects.

Similarly, the Chairman, House Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Dekor, represented by a member of the committee, Cyril Hart, expressed delight in the quality of the projects delivered, stating that it is joyful to see communities enjoying social and economic benefits from oil and gas revenue, which, according to him, brings peace and economic growth.