PIA: Ex-Militants Protest Exclusion From Host Community Trust Fund

Former Niger Delta agitators (Ex-militants) have expressed dismay over the alleged mismanagement of the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) fund, accusing the Board’s management, EMOIMEE, of excluding their members from benefiting from the palliative funds.

Eket, Mbo, Onna, Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, and Esit Eket (EMOIMEE) are the benefiting oil-producing areas in Akwa Ibom State, but the aggrieved former armed fighters of Akwa Ibom extraction, the fund managers, and the poor performance and exclusion of relevant stakeholders in the State are also issues.

The former agitators claimed that the EMOIMEE Board had received over N60 billion since its inception in 2021, yet has no tangible projects or human development interventions to show for it.

They therefore threatened to shut down the Trust office in Eket LGA and demanded the immediate resignation of the EMOIMEE Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Mr Justus Ntuk.

Under the aegis of the Akwa Ibom Revolutionary Council (AIRC), the former militants, in a communique after a joint meeting with other affiliated groups, demanded immediate accountability and transparency in the management of the funds.

“The EMOIMEE Trust has received over ₦60 billion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Mobil Producing Nigeria (NNPC/MPN) Joint Venture since its inception without anything tangible to show for it,” they ex-agitators maintained.

The groups include the Niger Delta Watchdogs, Niger Delta Republic Fighters, Akwa Ibom Ex-Militant Forum, Farmer and Fishermen Club, Niger Delta Movement for Justice, among others.

In a communique jointly signed by General Nsa Ikpaisong of the Akwa Ibom Revolutionary Council and 13 leaders of other groups, it is also alleged that “the multinational oil companies are not living up to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The communique reads in parts, “We state unmistakably that the hardship faced by our people, particularly youths, farmers, fishermen, and ex-militants, has worsened despite the existence of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and the much publicised Host Community Development Trust Funds.

“It is important to state clearly that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, as currently implemented, has become a grand deception and silencing tool against the Akwa Ibom people.

“While the law prescribes that oil companies contribute 3% of their income to Host Community Trust Funds, this provision has been weaponised to abandon Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and shield oil companies from their moral and historical obligations to host communities.

“Over ₦60 billion has been officially disbursed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Mobil Producing Nigeria (NNPC/MPN) Joint Venture to the EMOIMEE Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) covering Akwa Ibom oil-bearing areas since

“Yet today, our people, youth, fishermen, farmers, and ex-militants remain abandoned, neglected, and denied the benefits of these funds.

“The Akwa Ibom Revolutionary Council categorically accuses Host Community Trust leadership structures (HOSTCOM), especially EMOIMEE HCDT, of  financial opacity and suspected diversion of funds.”

They added that the EMOIMEE Trust has deliberately excluded ex-militants, who were frontline fighters in the Niger Delta struggle.

“There is total neglect of youths, fishermen, and farmers, whose livelihoods have been destroyed by oil exploration and running of the Host Community Trusts as private estates, not community institutions”, they said.

However, the EMOIMEE BoT Chairman, Ntuk, denied the allegations, saying the Trust has performed creditably across all the LGAs it covers.

“The EMOIMEE is not aware of any group of ex-militants in Akwa Ibom State. However, tell them to go to their different LGAs to see how the Trust has performed in terms of projects and other interventions,” he argued.