Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
King Edmound Daukoru, a former minister of state for energy and the traditional ruler of the Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, has tasked the leadership of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) to concentrate on raising awareness of the problem of Niger Delta environmental pollution brought on by the oil industry.
The monarch also lamented the persistent oil pollution in the area and its detrimental effects on the socioeconomic well-being of the host communities, noting that Ogoniland is not the only polluted place in the Niger Delta and that practically all of it was afflicted.
This was said by Daukoru, a former minister of state for energy in Nigeria who also served as secretary general of OPEC in 2006 and as chairman of the HOSTCOM Board of Trustees, at the installation of the organization’s national elected executives officers in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State.
He added urged the newly elected executives to build on the successes already noted and keep informing and educating members about their rights because the majority of members lack education and are uninformed of their rights.
The host community issues are addressed in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), but HOSTCOM is not specifically stated, at least not in the PIA itself, the man added.
“How does a lone farmer defend his right if an oil well is discovered on his farm? Only if he joins with other people who have comparable issues—which is what HOSTCOM is about—can he find security in numbers.
“HOSTCOM is not a debt collector per se. HOSTCOM duties involve enlightening people as to their rights. Maybe some issues can only be resolved through litigation in court, some may be resolved by the authority or commission as the case may be, but going from the village level to even a court room, getting a lawyer, a valuer, or going to the regulator authorities is already a big task for small communities who do not have the resources and enlightenment to know what their rights are.
In addition to spreading awareness, “the second thing you must do is to make sure that remediation programs are not taken for granted. It is not just Ogoni that has polluted soils; it is happening all throughout the Niger Delta, and every year the farm harvest and the fish catch are declining. Where are we going in another 50 years?”
In his statement, Chief Benjamin Tamaranebi, the national president of HOSTCOM, stated that the organization’s major goal is to persuade the federal and state governments to implement policies that will help the long-ignored, marginalized, and underprivileged oil and gas producing areas.
The PIA, financing provided directly to host towns, and government recognition of HOSTCOM were among the significant accomplishments he mentioned for HOSTCOM.
“Groups like TROMPCON, CDC and others have also played both the oil perspectives and significant roles at ensuring that there was a collective platform to access the companies operating in the Niger Delta region and the federal government,” Tamaranebi said. “Before the formation of HOSTCOM.
The main goal was to stop the intense agitation for a development commission in the area by making sure we kept up the pressure on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the nine oil-bearing States to establish an oil-producing areas development commission to oversee some of the 13% derivation.
Ondo, Delta, Edo, Abia, and Imo States have founded theirs in response to this. While some of the main players, including Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, and Cross-River, have yet to create their commissions, leaving host communities without guidance as our 13% derivation is spent without their input. We firmly want that it be established from our state governments as soon as possible.
Chief Benjamin Tamaraneri, who serves as National President, Mr. Ibinabobo Watson, who serves as Vice President, Dr. Joshua Okie, who serves as Secretary, Princess Enyekit-Itan, who serves as Assistance Secretary, and
Others, including Mr. George Sele, Director of Strategic and Planning, Prof. Ogugua Ikpeze, Legal Advisor, Chief Emma Eyakagbe, Youth Leader, and others, were inaugurated at the Cultural Center Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa.
Rather than paying for cleanup and compensating impacted populations after harming the ecosystem, Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri recommended multinationals in the oil and gas sector to convert flare gas into other kinds of energy.
In his capacity as Diri’s representative, Mr. Ebiyeri Jones, Commissioner for Mineral Resources, emphasized the importance of multinational corporations following the commission’s guidelines.
Additionally, the new exco was urged by King Bubraiye Dakolo, the Ibenanaowei of the Ekpetiama Kingdom, to work tirelessly for the people.
Three percent, he claimed, would not be enough for the host community.
