Stakeholders advance implementation of HCDTs
The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has stated that President Bola Tinubu is very strategic in his approach to addressing the issues of development, economic growth and sustainable peace in the Niger Delta.
Otuaro spoke at the weekend during a town hall meeting with PAP stakeholders and Niger Delta residents in Lagos, hosted by prominent Niger Delta activist and founder of the Ijaw Monitoring Group, Joseph Eva.
Among other notable stakeholders in attendance were the Chairman of Ijaw National Congress, Lagos chapter, Prince Tonye Harry; Prof. Dauphin Moro, Titus Posibi, Mrs Amarian Benedicta, Mrs Ogbogbo, Evangelist Agboro, Emmanuel Fiawe, Robert Fiawe, Elder Regent Youmor, Mrs Rosemary Aluko, and the Chairman of IYC, Lagos chapter, Owen Naphatin.
He stated that Tinubu’s strategy, as captured in his Renewed Hope Agenda, is working for the Niger Delta, and could be seen in his deliberate effort at tackling the challenges of development, security and sustainable peace in the region.
According to him, the Tinubu administration has not only restored peace in the area but is also delivering on its campaign promises around human capacity and infrastructure development for the area.
According to Otuaro, the support of the President and the National Security Adviser for the PAP is responsible for the expansion of the scholarship scheme and other milestone achievements the programme has recorded in vocational training, peacebuilding and stakeholder engagement.
The PAP boss emphasised that human resource development was crucial to the socio-economic advancement and development of the region’s people, as well as to achieving sustainable peace and security.
MEANWHILE, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) and the Ford Foundation have officially concluded the Bridges Project with a high-level stakeholders’ dialogue forum that brought together leaders from government, settlors, regulators, representatives of Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs), and communities to reflect on lessons from four years of implementing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly its HCDT provisions.
The HCDTs serve as a central mechanism of the PIA, designed to ensure that host communities benefit directly from extractive activities.
The stakeholders’ dialogue forum also charted a way forward for the sustainable development of the host community in the Niger Delta region. The two-day stakeholders’ forum, themed “Four Years of the PIA: Lessons, Gains, and the Path Forward for Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs),” convened over 150 participants. Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of PIND Foundation, Mr Sam Ogbemi Daibo, noted that the forum marked a pivotal step in consolidating lessons from the Bridges Project for future implementation.
