PIA: Ex -Mosop President Faults 3% Host Community Fund

Former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, Mosop, Mr.Legborsi Pyagbara, has faulted the three percent host community fund in the Petroleum Industry Act.
It would be recalled that
two years after its  promulgation into law, the implementation of the Host Community Development Fund, as contained in the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), has remained largely sketchy
This situation has further agitated members of oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta who  have continued to bear the brunt of oil spills and pollution.
Presenting a paper on ‘Natural Resources Management and Petroleum Industry Act,’ at an event in Port Harcourt , former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Pyagbara, said that the three percent host communities fund in the PIA is inadequate, considering the level of pollution in the Niger Delta.
“The truth remains that as people from oil bearing communities, we’ve been demanding for a greater stake in the oil industry. And in response to that, the government claims to have created a Host Community Development Fund.”
“While it is positive in a way, it didn’t meet the expectations of the communities. First, you can’t give us three percent, while we are receiving 100 percent pollution. So, when you look at the risk, 3% cannot match the risks involved in pollution that the Niger Delta people are getting.
“Two, the transparency involved in even capturing the three percent. One would have naturally expected that it should be 3 percent of the budget. But 3 percent of OPEX makes one feel that there is something that is hidden. Because, when you do your OPEX, I will not sit down with you to design OPEX of your company.
“And OPEX cannot be standardised because it cannot be something that you say, ‘this year, it is going to be this, next year, it is going to be this.’ It all depends on whatever the oil company reports to you.