Senator Ned Nwoko, representing the Delta North Senatorial District, has alleged that his constituents are not benefitting from the 3% remittance of oil companies located in the district.
Nwoko, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, noted that despite the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, communities in his district do not feel the impact of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and Local Oil Companies (LOCs) operating in the region.
According to the PIA, signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari, oil companies are to remit 3% of their annual operating expenditure to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the development of host communities.
Sen. Nwoko argued that the oil companies complied with the law by remitting the 3%, but it had not translated into meaningful progress for the oil-producing communities in the district.
‘’The PIA created a legal framework for governance, regulation, and fiscal responsibility in the petroleum industry. This mandates that three per cent of the annual operating expenditure of oil companies be remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the development of host communities.
‘’The enactment of the PIA was a landmark moment, aimed at addressing years of environmental degradation, neglect, and lack of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in host communities.
‘’For Delta North, this law was supposed to usher in a new era of rapid infrastructural development and improved living conditions. Unfortunately, this promise remains largely unfulfilled,” he said.
Oil companies and fields in Delta North
Nwoko listed the oil companies operating in the region and their oil fields including:
- Nigerian Agip Oil Company now Oando Energy Resources operating OML60 in Ndokwa East Local Government Area.
- The Platform Petroleum Limited operating OML38 in Ukwuani LGA
- Sterling Energy Exploration Production Company operating OML143 in Ndokwa East LGA
- Pan Ocean Oil Cooperation operating OML147 in Ika North East LGA
- Midwestern Oil Company operating OML56 in Ndokwa West.
- Pillar Oil Limited operating OML56 in Ndokwa West LGA
- Energia Limited operating OML56 in Ndokwa West
- Chorus Energy Limited operating OML56 in Ndokwa East.
“There is also Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Limited (downstream), Ndokwa West, Opac Refinery (downstream), Ndokwa West, and PowerGas Ebedei Limited (downstream), Ukwuani,” he added.
- He argued that the cumulative remittance from these companies amounts to an estimated 30 per cent of their operational costs annually, and 120 per cent of their combined operating expenditures remitted into the CRF over four years.
- He said the funds supervised by NUPRC are in billions of Naira and could be utilised in addressing critical projects such as the Okpai Independent Power Plant (IPP) and the Ogwashi-Uku Dam.
- He stressed that the funds could also be used to improve healthcare, education, and road networks, among others.
“The lack of visible development from these funds raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability,” he argued.
Nwoko pledged to ensure that henceforth, the funds are judiciously allocated, disbursed and used for the growth and development of the oil-producing communities in his region.
