Tensions are mounting in Bayelsa State as host communities accuse Oando Energy Resources of withholding statutory development funds running into billions of naira under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The alleged non-remittance of the funds has reportedly hampered the operations of the Yenagoa-Ogbia Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT), which covers dozens of oil-producing communities.
Speaking in an interview in Yenagoa, the Acting Clan Head of Biseni, His Royal Highness Wariebi Williams, said the people of Biseni were yet to feel the impact of the PIA funds.
Williams said community leaders had raised the matter with Oando and the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Mineral Resources.
He said the commissioner asked Oando representatives whether the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had paid its share, adding that the company confirmed that it had.
According to him, the commissioner responded that the payment did not prevent Oando from releasing its own funds to the cluster board to enable it to execute development projects.
Williams said another meeting had been scheduled for August 14 to address the issue.
He disclosed that some community members had considered blocking roads to draw attention to the matter but were advised against the action by a military officer.
“There is no other option. By emphasising dialogue, we mean we will swing into action to call their attention, secure a meeting, and find out why they have withheld this money all this while,” he said.
Similarly, Chairman of the Yenagoa-Ogbia HCDT, Barrister Zuwa Konunga, alleged that Oando had outstanding payments covering 2023, 2024, 2025 and part of 2026.
Under the PIA, oil companies are required to contribute three per cent of their annual operating expenditure to a Host Communities Development Trust for the benefit of their host communities.
Konunga said the Trust was inaugurated in March 2023 for a four-year tenure, but received its first tranche in 2024, covering the 2022–2023 period.
Read Also: azikel-refinery-receives-200-tonne-crude-distillation-unit
“After paying for the first year, Oando has started owing a backlog of years,” he alleged.
He said the Trust received only partial payments for 2024, comprising 25 per cent of the dollar component and 50 per cent of the naira component in September or October 2025.
According to him, Oando promised to pay the outstanding balance within two weeks, but the remaining 75 per cent of the dollar component and 50 per cent of the naira component were yet to be remitted.
The Trust covers 36 host communities across Yenagoa, Ogbia and parts of Nembe Local Government Areas in Bayelsa State, as well as Engene in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Konunga also expressed concern over the location of the Trust’s account, alleging that Oando insisted on domiciling the account with a bank in Lagos despite the Trust’s request to use a bank in Yenagoa.
He said the Board of Trustees later resolved to move the account to Globus Bank in Yenagoa, a request he said was approved by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) last year.
However, Konunga alleged that Oando had yet to comply with the approval.
“Why should our monies be domiciled in a bank in Lagos, knowing that the bank itself has a branch here in Yenagoa?” he asked.
He further warned that the Trust’s administrative funds were almost exhausted.
The PIA provides that five per cent of the HCDT fund is allocated for administrative and office-running expenses.
“For now, we are still able to pay our staff’s salaries up to date, but that five per cent is almost exhausted. If nothing is done, the office may no longer function,” Konunga said.
When contacted, Dr. Gbenga Ogunwusi, a director in the company relating with the community, said Oando operates a communication policy and that he was not authorised to speak to the press on the matter.
Ogunwusi, who declined to provide the telephone number of the company’s Corporate Communications Manager, however, promised to forward the enquiry to the appropriate department for a response
