House Decries Flagrant Abuse of Due Process, Infringement of Local Content By Oil Companies in Imo 

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja 

The House of Representatives has decried the flagrant abuse of due process, infringement of local content, disobedience to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and non-compliance with tax laws by oil and gas companies operating in Imo State.

To this end, the green chamber urged the oil and gas companies operating in Imo State to urgently comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGICD) Act 2010 regarding indigenous employment, contract awards and establishment of operational offices.

The House also urged the oil companies to engage in genuine dialogue with host community leaders to address grievances and ensure peaceful coexistence.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary on Wednesday by Hon. Chike Okafor.

Presenting the motion, Okafor said that the NOGICD Act, 2010 was enacted to promote the utilisation of Nigerian human and material resources and the participation of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas industry. 

He added that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 provides a robust legal and regulatory framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, including specific provisions for host community development, environmental management, and equitable benefit sharing.

Okafor noted that the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act authorises state governments to collect certain taxes and levies from businesses operating within their territories, which is crucial for funding state infrastructure and social services.

The lawmaker pointed out that several International and Indigenous Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the oil and gas fields within the oil-producing communities of Imo State, notably in Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, and other LGAs as their hosts.

He said the companies are: Seplat Energy Plc: – OML 53; Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR): – OML 54; Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Co. Ltd (SEEPCO); WalterSmith Petroman Oil Limited: – OML 16; Associate Oil and Gas Limited/Dansaki Petroleum Limited (A Consortium): Umusetijlgwe  marginal field; Chorus Energy Limited (formerly Shell Portfolio); TotalEnergies/NNPC Joint Venture; and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited. 

Okafor also pointed out the persistent outcry and allegations from host communities and state government regarding the failure to establish functional operational offices within their areas of operation in Imo State as mandated by Section 3(j) of the NOGICD Act, 2010, thereby denying the state the valuable economic activity and employment.

He also lamented the systematic failure of the companies to prioritise the employment of qualified indigenes of Imo State, in direct violation of Sections 11, 28, and 35 of the NOGICD Act, 2010.

Okafor further decried the refusal to award contracts to competent Nigerian companies, especially those from the host communities, for goods and services.

He lamented the obstruction of lawful efforts by the Imo State Government and Imo State Internal Revenue Service (IIRS) to access their premises for assessment and collection of legally approved state taxes and levies.

The lawmaker also decried the non-compliance with the Host Communities Development Trust provisions under Chapter 3 of the PIA, 2021, leading to a lack of tangible benefits and development in these communities.

Okafor expressed concern that these acts of non-compliance have led to immense frustration, widespread agitations, and a palpable threat of social unrest within the host communities. 

He also expressed concern that the continued neglect and infringement of these laws, if not urgently addressed, might lead to violent protests that could threaten national security, destruction of critical oil and gas infrastructure, disrupting production and harming the national economy in the oil-producing regions of Imo State. 

The House resolved: “Urge the oil and gas companies operating in Imo State to urgently comply with:  Provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGICD) Act 2010 regarding indigenous employment, contract awards and establishment of operational offices; 

“The Host Communities Development Trust requirements under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021; 

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    Niger Sets Up Monitoring Committees For Ongoing Capital Projects

    Niger Sets Up Monitoring Committees For Ongoing Capital Projects

    Laleye Dipo in Minna

    Niger state government has put in place monitoring committees for all ongoing capital projects in the state to ensure only well certified and completed projects are paid for.

    The plan is also to ensure the general public gets value for government’s investments on these projects.

    Government, according to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works Alhaji Hassan Baba Etsu, who spoke to newsmen in Minna, emphatically told contractors executing all its projects that it will not accept or pay for any shoddy jobs executed.

    The government is currently constructing 556 kilometers of roads across the 25 local governments in the state and embarking on urban renewals in Minna, Bida, Suleja, and Kontagora towns.

    He said all the projects being executed were designed to stand the test of time and serve the various communities satisfactorily.

    Etsu declared: ” this government has zero tolerance for poor quality jobs our experienced engineers are on sites to monitor the execution of all our projects”

    Etsu disclosed that the government was embarking on rapid infrastructural development across the length and breadth of the state to address the infrastructural deficits Inherited by the government

    “We met a state with acute Infrastructural deficit, we are doing everything possible to address these lapses so we will not allow any contractor to draw back the hands of the clock”.

    Etsu dismissed claims that shortage of funds is hindering the completion of many of the projects pointing out that “there is no way the government will be executing these type of projects without funding,” adding that the inactivities noticed at some of the sites were because the contractors were on vacation.

    “The contractors have started returning to sites, by end of November most of them would have returned and work recommenced 100%”.

    Etsu frowned at reckless driving by some truck drivers which have resulted in accidents claiming innocent lives saying the ministry is already embarking on the training of the drivers while also advising the people to be careful while passing through the roads.

    “We have appointed ‘safety committees’ for all our project sites. Anyone caught violating the regulations put in place will be prosecuted”, he said.

    ​  

    Laleye Dipo in Minna Niger state government has put in place monitoring committees for all ongoing capital projects in the state to ensure only well certified and completed projects are

    Olaopa Seeks Reform of Local Govt Service Commissions

    Olaopa Seeks Reform of Local Govt Service Commissions

    Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission ( FCSC) , Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has urged a reform of the nation’s Local Government Service Commissions (LGSCs) for the effective delivery of governance at the grassroots level.

    Olaopa spoke on Wednesday during the national summit of the Association of Chairmen of Local Government Service Commissions in Nigeria with the theme ” Strengthening Local Government Administration in Nigeria” held in Abuja.

    While highlighting the nexus between local administration and service to the people, Olaopa noted that for the ” LGSC to support rather than undermine local government autonomy, several reforms will be essential”.

    According to him, if the LGSC is retained, then the criteria for its composition will necessarily change so the new stakeholders and the LGs representatives constitute the core of its membership and leadership.

    Similarly, the LGSC in its operation, he said, would necessarily change to create ample room for the end users and new local government chairmen and councillors to exercise delegated powers and functions .

    According to him, under the existing system, local government staff often owe their allegiance to the LGSCs and the state governments that manage their careers and control them , rather than to the local councils they work for . He said this undermines the authority of elected local authorities and hampers the implementation of local policies.

    He noted the need for the onboarding of the representatives of LGs in the composition of the new LGSCs. The LGSCs faces the possibility of being proscribed really, so as to allow local government authorities to create their own new commissions.

    Consequently, for Olaopa, the alternative is for the LGSC’s role to be redefined so it is limited to setting of standards and monitoring while local governments handle their own day to day staff administration.

    According to Olaopa, whatever service commission may emerge, and even if the LGSC is retained, the re-professionalisation of LGAs will depend on the degree of independence that LGSCs or any other agency enjoys , to make decisions regarding personnel management without undue interference from state and even local government new leadership.

    Noting the funding challenge that hampers the effectiveness of LGSC, he said that this was despite the statutory allocation managed through the State-LG Joint Account. But he hoped that with the need to make LGSC more effective, this financial challenge would be addressed to pave the way for investment in staff capacity through training based on need assessment.

    Urging government at the federal and state levels to overhaul the LGSCs, for effective performance, Olaopa said: ” Clearly, the LGSCs are caught in the dynamics of the high politics of a defining reform on which the critical players ( the Federal Government and State Governors ) need to come to a shared vision and understanding. It is only such a common purpose that will shape the future of local government system and its revisioning as a developmental model.”

    He noted the need for the Federal Government to make some concession to state governments as stakeholders in local governance, stressing , however, the need for constitutional safeguards that would ensure a measure of inter-governmental partnerships that are enabling but do not undermine local government autonomy.

    ” LGSC certainly will be one inheritance that sure will be win-win for state and local government governments if reconceived with good development-enabled intention and with the collective vigilance of the FGN to guard local autonomy from infraction by state governments or others”, he added.

    ​  

    Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission ( FCSC) , Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has urged a reform of the nation’s Local Government Service Commissions (LGSCs) for the effective delivery of

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