The Network Advancement Program for Poverty and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAPPDRR) has called for an increase in the statutory three per cent Operating Expenditure (OPEX) allocation to oil host communities to 15 per cent.
The Founder and Executive Director of NAPPDRR, Mr Emem Edoho, made the appeal to the Federal Government in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Edoho called on the National Assembly, Federal Government, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and International Oil Companies (IOCs) to initiate an urgent legislative amendment to raise the allocation.
He said the existing three per cent provision was inadequate to address decades of high levels of environmental degradation, economic dislocation and infrastructure deficits in oil-producing communities.
“The three per cent provision is grossly inadequate to remediate over six decades of oil spillage, gas flaring, water pollution, soil infertility and loss of aquatic life in Esit Eket, Eket, Ibeno and Onna Local Government Areas of Akwa-Ibom.
He decried that host communities had lost their traditional livelihoods of fishing and farming without adequate compensation or alternative economic opportunities.
He said hydrocarbon emissions had escalated the situation from an economic challenge to a public health concern, with rising disease cases placing additional pressure on health facilities already constrained by inadequate funding.
“Decades of hydrocarbon pollution have triggered a public health crisis, with rising cases of respiratory diseases, cancers and water-borne diseases. The fund needed for health insurance, hospitals and potable water far exceeds three per cent.
“The development index of the core oil-producing communities remains among the lowest in the Niger Delta despite accounting for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign earnings. Roads, schools and coastal protection require massive capital injection,” he said.
He noted that other oil-producing countries allocated between 10 and 20 per cent to host communities, insisting that Nigeria should ensure communities hosting oil operations receive a fairer share of the benefits from national resources.
According to him, to avert youth restiveness, improved funding will create jobs, skills acquisition and enterprise support for the teeming youths, thereby guaranteeing peace and uninterrupted oil production.
“Increasing the fund to 15 per cent is not a favour, but justice, equity and environmental reparation,” he said.
He, however, commended the Eket, Mkpat Enin, Onna, Ikot-Abasi, Mbo, Esit-Eket and Eastern Obolo (EMOIMEE) Host Community Development Trust, which oversees development projects funded by oil and gas operations across seven host communities in Akwa Ibom.
He noted that the trust had demonstrated transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in managing the existing three per cent OPEX allocation.
The founder of NAPPDRR said the Board of Trustees and Management Committee had ensured that the funds supported meaningful community development projects through stakeholder engagement, needs assessment and people-oriented interventions, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
He called for their reappointment to enable them consolidate their achievements and ensure the sustainability of ongoing development initiatives.
