House of Representative approves oil exploration host community to almost all the states in Nigeria

There were tense moments at the House of
Representatives on Thursday as members
approved a clause in the Petroleum Industry Bill to
include the entire country as ‘host community’ of
petroleum resources.
By approving the clause, the House said all
“upstream and downstream ” communities in the
country would now benefit from the “Petroleum
Host Community Fund”, proposed in the PIB.
In the original version of the bill from the Executive,
the PHCF was proposed to assist cushion the
effects of oil exploration activities on oil producing
communities.

Oil companies, according to the bill, are to
contribute 10 per cent of their net profit to the
Fund.
However, the House AdHoc Committee on the PIB
amended the beneficiaries of the PHCF to include
all parts of the country rather than restricting it to
oil communities alone.
Chairman of the committee, Mr. Ishaka Bawa, while
throwing light on the recommendation, told
members that communities with refineries or have
oil pipelines traversing them, were automatically
“host communities.”
He added, “It means that even states, where there
are refineries or there are pipelines are host
communities.
“It is beyond oil producing communities. “
Bawa stated further that the only exceptions were
states like Sokoto and Kebbi.
Although, the House passed the recommendation,
it was not without some protests.
Some Niger Delta lawmakers, led by Mr. Leo Ogor,
sought to retain the original proposal.
Ogor argued that the recommendation of the
committee might face challenges of
implementation because of what he called “many
technicalities that will hinder progress.”
He insisted that the House should restore the
original provision, but his position was defeated by
the majority of members, who backed the
community’s recommendation.
The House also reduced the 10 per cent
contribution to the PHCF to 7.5 per cent.
But, oil companies are still required to carry out
corporate social responsibilities in host
communities to make up for the reduced financial
contribution.
Lawmakers began considering the report on the
controversial bill on Wednesday.
The 368-page report has 312 sections and 348
clauses.
By Thursday, members had passed 116 clauses at
the Committee of the Whole, which was presided
over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha.
The House later adjourned further consideration of
the bill till Tuesday next week.