To boost awareness of how oil-producing areas can benefit from Nigeria’s petroleum reforms, the Rivers State Government, in partnership with Rivers State University (RSU) and consultancy firm F1 Team Associates, will stage a two-day workshop on the Host Community Development section of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The program is scheduled for September 22-23, 2025, in Port Harcourt. The event will guide local government representatives and other stakeholders through the law’s provisions and their impact on host communities.
At a media briefing on Thursday, Barrister Jude Ndubuisi, lead consultant at F1 Team Associates, described the PIA, signed into law in 2021, as a milestone that unifies Nigeria’s oil and gas regulations. He noted that one of its most significant elements is a dedicated chapter on host community development, which introduces the Host Community Development Trust and governing boards to manage project funds.
Ndubuisi explained that the training is designed to close the knowledge gap among council officials, who often serve as the main link between oil companies and residents. By providing them with a firm understanding of the Act and the accompanying 2022 Host Communities Development Regulations, he said, the state can ensure smooth implementation and better outcomes for affected areas.
“The two-day workshop of the sensitisation series aims to ensure that the local government councils in Rivers state, being the closest to the oil-producing communities with responsibility involving and relating to interface with host communities, are well informed about the provision of the PIA”, Barr Jude said.
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Speaking on the fund’s purpose, Professor Kato Gogo Kingston of Petroleum Energy and Natural Resource Law in the Faculty of Law, Rivers State University clarified that the three per cent allocation to host communities is not a cash handout but a resource for targeted projects.
“The PIA makes provisions for needs assessment. When you get the 3% it doesn’t mean that the 3% will be shared as cash; that’s not what the act says the 3% is supposed to be for: development of the specific host communities. So, along that line, the host communities’ development trust funds have trustees, and they do what we call needs assessment. What does each community need? Is it a borehole or schools, so these funds are channelled into that? I have witnessed a lot of them being implemented,” he explained
Also addressing participants, Professor Sam Dike, an expert in energy and environmental law at RSU, said the sessions will shed light on unclear aspects of the legislation. He added that additional specialists will be on hand to help attendees gain a full understanding of how the PIA can be applied to advance development in oil-producing communities.
The state government expressed confidence that the collaboration with academia and industry professionals will help drive sustainable growth and ensure host communities benefit from the country’s petroleum resources.
