Why Nigeria’s New Petroleum Industry Act cannot resolve the Agitation for Resource Control

Abstract

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 provides for the establishment of host communities development trust (HCDT) in order to fast-track socio-economic and physical development in the host communities of oil operations in the Niger Delta area. This is a new strategy designed to cushion the implications of State ownership of petroleum, which is still contentious. Nigeria’s multi-million-dollar petroleum wealth comes from the Niger Delta area, yet the people are poor and their area is undeveloped. This paradox of poverty in plenty led the people to agitate for ‘resource control’ by engaging in public and militant protests as a way of demanding for the benefits of oil operations. The protests often disrupted oil production and reduced Nigerian oil revenue, which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Previous development agencies such as the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) failed to develop the area and empower the indigenous people. This article seeks to examine whether the HCDT bottom-up development model can succeed where the previous agencies had failed and thereby resolve the agitation for ‘resource control’ – a catch-phrase used by the people to demand for equity. Drawing from primary and secondary sources, this article critically analyzed the HCDT vis-à-vis the demands of the Niger Delta people and shows why the HCDT cannot resolve the agitation for ‘resource control’ unless the amendments suggested herein are made.