The Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCON) have appealed to the Kogi State government to include them in the implementation process of the 13 percent oil derivation fund.
HOSTCON chairman in Kogi, Bishop Gabriel Ojoka, made the call in a communique issued in Lokoja after the joint meeting of HOSTCON, HOSCOM and Nag’oh communities.
The group also called for the expansion of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to include Kogi to enable the communities in the state to participate in its projects and development programmes.
The state government received its first 13 percent derivation allocation in October after being recognised as an oil-producing state by the federal government.
Ojoka, who doubles as the state leader and chairman Northern States Area of HOSTCON, noted that the establishment of NDDC in Kogi will enable the HOSTCON to benefit maximally in the developmental activities of the commission as host communities.
The national leader also stressed the need for the state government to carry HOSTCON Kogi chapter along in the implementation of its programmes as it is being practiced in other oil-producing states of the federation.
He expressed optimism that the government would certainly not sideline HOSTCON in Kogi State.
He commended the HOSTCON members for their massive turnout from across the country, especially some prominent personalities and national executive officials of the organizations.
Ojoka advised the public to do their best in ensuring that wisdom directed the affairs of their life, saying “greater glory and blessing of a better Nigeria awaits everyone come 2023.”
The cleric expressed his condolences to family members of the security agencies who lost their loved ones in the fight against banditry and insurgency in Nigeria and called on the federal government to compensate their families in order to encourage the younger officers in the defence of the nation.
Also speaking, HRH Pastor John Omojo Egwuda, the state patron of HOSTCON, charged the communities to participate via registration through the national executive council.
Egwuda prayed that the enormous natural resources in Kogi State would be used for the benefit of all.
