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PANDEF, NDD Reject 12 Provisions In PIB Insist On 10% OPEX For Trust Fund
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Niger Delta Dialogue (NDD) have rejected no fewer than 12 key provisions in the Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill (PHICDB).
They warned that the key provisions in the bill must be redrafted, rephrased and restructured to accommodate the interests of the impoverished and neglected people of the oil and gas host and impacted communities in the Niger Delta, or the peace and appropriate development sought by the bill would elude both the region and the country as a whole.
The critical Niger Delta groups expressed their rejection of the vital provisions of the bill during the NDD’s Strategic Communication and Advocacy Training session for major stakeholders in PANDEF, NDD and the various Policy Advocacy Committees (PACs) in Port Harcourt, recently.
The Tide reports that the PHICDB, an integral part of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently receiving legislative consideration at the two chambers of the National Assembly, “seeks to foster sustainable shared prosperity amongst host and impacted communities; provide direct social and economic benefits from petroleum operations to host and impacted communities; enhance peaceful and harmonious coexistence between settlers and host and impacted communities; as well as, create a framework to support host and impacted communities’ development” process.
The PIB, which has been sleeping in the drawers of the federal lawmakers for more than 18 years, is the oldest pieces of legislation yet to receive the majority consent of National Assembly members in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Among the provisions is the Interpretations Section, which they claim, was vague in the use of words and terms “host and impacted communities” to describe oil-bearing communities in the region, insisted that the lawmakers must clearly identify communities by the specific roles they play in the hydrocarbons production chain.
They “recommended that host communities should be clearly defined as villages where oil wells and flow stations are situated. Impacted communities should be defined as villages where oil installations such as pipelines run through as well as villages located within a three kilometer radius of those where oil wells and gas plants or flaring points are domiciled”, in the final bill to be passed.
The stakeholders condemned the observed silence of the bill on how the clusters should be formed and the trust fund shared, and recommended that clusters should be carved out on the basis of state Houses of Assembly constituencies for ease of coordination and mobilisation.
They also condemned the vague use of the term ‘Settlor(s)’ in Part 2, Section 2, Subsection 1 and 2 of the draft bill, and insisted that each International Oil Company (IOC) must be deemed as a Settlor(s) and have its own trust fund incorporated in the clusters to avoid confusion in funding and projects’ implementation.
The stakeholders wondered why “sabotage spill” was not clearly defined but its consequences were highlighted in the draft bill, and “recommended that there should be no clause compelling the Settlor(s) not to pay what is agreed until they stop operation by virtue of licence expiration or cessation of operational existence in the host and impacted communities”.
They further condemned the observed silence in the sharing formula of the accruing fund from the “Settlor(s)” between host and impacted communities, particularly given that there are more impacted than host communities in available oil industry records, and “recommended that a sharing formula of 70 per cent for host communities and 30 per cent for impacted communities” should be spelt out in the bill, when passed for the President’s assent.
The stakeholders also expressed worry that Part 3, Section 9, Subsection 1 and 2 of the draft bill rests the creation and determination of the membership of the Board of Trustees (BoTs) for the trust funds on the IOCs, warning that this may undermine the peace effort in the region, and further undercut the interests of oil-bearing communities.
They, therefore, “recommended that the BOTs should be a five-member body with a representative each from Host Communities, Impacted Communities, Federal Government, and two representatives for the Settlor(s). Each stakeholder should determine who their representatives will be. Representatives of Host, Impacted communities and the Settlor(s) must be indigenes of the cluster area.”
The PACs berated the Presidency for not giving details on the actual composition of the day-to-day management committees of the cluster trusts as enunciated in Section 14 of the proposed bill, and “recommended a nine-man committee with two representatives each nominated by Host and Impacted communities; three representatives of Settlor(s); and one representative each from state and federal governments, respectively”.
They condemned the provision of only 2.5 per cent of the actual operating expenditure (AOPEX), against 10 per cent in the previous bill submitted to the 8th NASS, for the smooth running of the recurrent and capital expenditures of the cluster trusts, and “recommended a minimum of 10 per cent of the operating expenditure (OPEX) to fund the cluster trusts and 5 per cent equity participation in the operations of the IOCs for both Host and Impacted communities”, in the final copy of the bill.
The stakeholders also picked holes in Section 11, which splits the utilization of the Endowment Fund to 70 per cent for capital expenditure; 20 per cent for the Reserve Fund; and 10 per cent for the Settlor(s) special projects, and “recommended that 75 per cent be reserved for capital expenditure; 20 per cent for the Reserve Fund; and 5 per cent for logistical and recurrent expenditures off the BoTs, management committees and the advisory committees”.
They expressed worry that the Presidency failed to specify how the operating expenditures of the Settlor(s) would be verified to ascertain the accruing funds to the cluster trusts, and “recommended that the OPEX, which is usually audited from the previous year’s spend, should be used to factor the accruing fund for the current year, e.g. AOPEX for Year A, audited in Year B, and used to calculate budget for Year C”.
The stakeholders blasted the Presidency for including in Section 22 that the Settlors’ OPEX paid into the trust fund shall be subject to Petroleum Income Tax (PIT) and Companies Income Tax (CIT) deductibles, and recommended that the Endowment Trust Fund should be excluded from any form of taxation, as the bill, in its original state would limit the amount of money available for development projects and programmes in the region.
The PACs queried Section 5 of the present bill, which does not give specific punishments for under-payment, late payment or non-payment of agreed money into the cluster trust fund as at when due, and recommended that failure by the Settlor(s) to pay the required percentage of the OPEX by first day of the year, should attract immediate suspension of operating licence; failure to do so by first day of second month should attract immediate withdrawal of operating licence; while before a Settlor gets another approval to operate in the same Oil Mining Lease (OML) or Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL), two per cent of the entire money owed the cluster trust fund must be paid as penalty in addition to the full payment of the entire balance in outstanding debt to the cluster communities.
The stakeholders lamented the lack of sufficient clarity on timeframes for incorporation of cluster trusts for Host and Impacted communities and the failure to stipulate penalties for reneging on implementation of agreed projects and programmes by the Settlor(s) as contained in Section 3 of the bill before the NASS, and recommended that deadlines be specified for the incorporation of cluster trust funds and inauguration of management committees and BoTs, just as the bill must specify duration not exceeding 24 months before the completion and commissioning of physical infrastructure projects in the affected communities, and six months for execution of human capacity development programmes such as economic empowerment schemes, scholarship initiatives, skills acquisition and entrepreneurship opportunities, among others.
All the parties warned that failure to accommodate the recommendations of the PACs in the bill, which the NASS has promised to pass into law by February, 2021, would be devastating for the people, and may trigger another round of tension and agitations in the region.
By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has charged the newly appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Chief of Staff (CoS) to carry out their duties with discipline, loyalty and a firm commitment to the success of the administration and the wellbeing of the people of Rivers State.
The governor warned that any involvement in unauthorised nocturnal meetings or any conduct capable of embarrassing the government will attract immediate dismissal.
Fubara gave the warning yesterday shortly after the newly appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Dagogo S.A. Wokoma and the new Chief of Staff (CoS), Barrister Sunny Ewule, were sworn in at the Executive Council Chambers of Government House, Port Harcourt.
As part of the ceremony, the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, David Ihua-Maduenyi administered the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office on the duo before the governor gave his charge.
Addressing the appointees, Fubara reminded them that their elevation to the new positions was a call to service and not a platform for political grandstanding or the pursuit of personal ambition.
He stressed that their foremost responsibility should be to themselves and to the people of Rivers State, stressing that their conduct must always reflect integrity, restraint and dedication to public good.
Speaking directly to Dr. Wokoma, whom he described as an accomplished academic and mathematician, the governor expressed confidence in his intellectual depth and capacity to deliver on the new assignment.
The office of the Secretary to the State Government, Fubara stressed, demands thoroughness, discipline and a deep sense of responsibility. He charged the SSG to represent the State with honour at all times.
“Your duty includes representing the state government. You need to represent us in a way and manner that will bring honour to us.
“What is important to this administration is to see that the good works that we started and the ones that we met, are concluded in a way that will bring progress and development to our dear state,” he stated.
Turning to the new Chief of Staff, the governor explained that he is expected to ensure smooth administrative coordination, managing official engagements effectively and safeguarding the image of the Government House.
He underscored the sensitive and personal nature of the role and emphasised that the position operates strictly under the authority of the governor.
Fubara stressed that the role does not permit independent political engagements or private strategy meetings without his knowledge and consent.
“Let me sound it here very clearly. Your duty is to make sure that you handle the administrative duties and image making roles perfectly well, liaising with whoever is coming for any official assignment here.
“If you involve yourself in nocturnal meetings and all those things, I will sack you. I’m very serious. What is important to me today is peace, progress and prosperity of this state. I’m not going to compromise anything for it,” he said.
The governor cautioned that involvement of the new appointees in any action capable of bringing the government or his office to disrepute would attract appropriate sanctions.
While congratulating the new appointees, Fubara expressed optimism that they would justify the confidence reposed in them.
He called on all public officials to work together in unity, observing that collective success is stronger and more enduring than individual achievement.
The governor who also addressed the Permanent Secretaries present at the ceremony, directed those of them who have reached retirement age to start preparing their handover notes without delay.
The notice, he said, was not intended to scare anybody but to prepare their minds towards the inevitability of exiting the service one day and to pave way for an orderly transition.
He warned against any attempt to engage in financial misconduct or last-minute irregularities, stressing that he was closely monitoring the system to ensure strict enforcement of accountability rules.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
The governor announced the cabinet dissolution yesterday in a statement titled ‘Government Special Announcement’, signed by his new Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi.
Governor Fubara directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
He thanked the outgoing members of the State Executive Council for their service and wished them the best in their future endeavours.
The three-paragraph special announcement read, “His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
“His Excellency, the Governor, has therefore directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
“His Excellency further expresses his deepest appreciation to the outgoing members of the Executive Council wishing them the best in their future endeavours.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
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