Delta Chiefs Demand Stake In 50 Oil Blocks Licensing-Round

The Association of Delta State Traditional Council of Chiefs has called for a stake for host communities and indigenous groups in the federal government’s ongoing 50 oil blocks licensing-round, insisting that communities in producing areas must not be excluded from ownership of assets located in their ancestral lands.

The demand was made in a paper presentation read by High Chief Oluma Azubuike Hawkins at the Nigerian Local Content Conference held in Abuja.

The chiefs said a dedicated quota should be reserved for community consortia and Niger Delta indigenous companies with verifiable community ownership.

According to the group, the licensing exercise should provide what it described as a transparent pathway for host communities to participate directly in the ownership and management of oil and gas assets.

“We agitate for a specific quota or set-aside in the ongoing 50 oil blocks licensing rounds for community consortia or Niger Delta indigenous companies with verifiable community ownership,” the paper stated.

The chiefs added that the current licensing rounds and marginal fields programme should serve as a starting point for greater indigenous participation in the upstream sector.

They also called on the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to lower entry barriers for qualified community-backed bids through flexible payment terms, technical partnerships and targeted capacity-building programmes.

Among the proposals put forward were reduced signature bonuses payable in instalments, technical partnership requirements with larger firms instead of outright disqualification, and training programmes to prepare Traditional Council-led consortia for future bids.

The association further demanded a “right of first refusal” for host communities over any oil block or field located within their ancestral territories before such assets are offered to outside investors.

“For any block or field within our ancestral lands, our community investment vehicles should have a legally recognised right of first refusal to purchase a stake before it is offered on the open market,” the chiefs said.

Also, the convener of the Nigerian Local Content Conference and the Africa Commodities Conference and Exhibition, Michael Akueche, called for broader participation of ordinary Nigerians in the ownership and benefits of the nation’s oil wealth.

Akueche said Nigeria’s vast oil resources should not remain in the hands of a few players, stressing that millions of citizens, especially youths, women and host communities, should have structured opportunities to benefit from the sector.

According to him, one of the key proposals is the allocation of 20 per cent equity to Nigerians through organised state-by-state investment structures that would allow citizens to participate in bids for the oil blocks.

He said such a move would deepen local content, expand wealth creation and open new economic opportunities across the country.

“The Nigerian people must be carried along in the ownership of oil and gas assets. This will create jobs, build wealth and reduce poverty,” he said.

Akueche noted that despite decades of oil production, many Nigerians have remained excluded from the economic value chain of the industry.

He added that wider ownership participation in oil assets could help tackle economic hardship and improve living standards for millions of citizens.