PIA’s 30% Campaign Advocacy Reports / Communiques.
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has asserted that the role of state governments had been deliberately whittled down in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which implementation is expected to commence this August.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo made the assertion when he received in audience a high-powered 15-member delegation from the Bayelsa Amazons Advocacy Campaign Group in Government House, Yenagoa on Monday.
Lamenting that governments in the oil and gas producing states in the Niger Delta region had virtually been reduced to mere observers, he noted that there were a lot of lacunas in the PIA which clearly put the oil-bearing areas in disadvantage.
According to the Deputy Governor, the prominent shortcomings in the Act, as passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Muhammed Buhari had denied the state governments their full participation in the implementation of the PIA.
His words, “We have some lacunas in the PIA law. You can’t deprive a man of his right and expect him not to complain. Considering the way that law is couched, they have actually reduced the role of the oil bearing states to that of a ‘siddon looker’.
“I’m really worried that those who made the law have, as usual, undermine the state in terms of exploration and management of oil resources. And you know that anything that does not have a legal backing, lacks the potency for its enforcement.
Responding to some of the requests made by the BAACG, the Bayelsa number two man assured them that government would set up a committee to monitor and follow-up the implementation of the PIA in the state.
their agenda for gender equity, promised that the interest of women in Bayelsa would be adequately protected in line with the provisions of the PIA.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Empowerment, Hon. Faith Opene explained that the agenda being championed by the women group was aimed at achieving 30 percent representation of women in the PIA implementation.
Speaking on behalf of the Bayelsa Amazons Advocacy Campaign Group, (BAACG), Comrade Princess Egbe, appealed to the State Government to ensure the inclusion of women in the membership of the board of trustees and the management committees for the PIA implementation in the oil-producing communities.
Comrade Egbe who is the convener of the advocacy group also submitted that capital funds be equitably distributed without any form of discrimination against women in the various oil-producing areas.
Signed
Mr Doubara Atasi
Senior Special Assistant on Media
Deputy Governor’s Office
Bayelsa State
01/08/22
As part of Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group’s commitment in empowering Nigerians through knowledge, especially, women and NSAs through deepening of understanding about human rights, building alliances for civic protection, demanding democratic accountability and consolidation of Nigeria’s democracy, a retreat was organized by Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group (NDEBUMOG) and Nigeria Civic Space Protection Alliance (NCSPA), with support from OXFAM in Nigeria at Francines Place Hotel, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Monday, July 15th & Tuesday,16th July, 2022. Nigeria’s Civic Space Protection Alliance (NCSPA) was formally unveiled during this event.
The retreat was part of the FAIR for All (F4A) Power of Voices Program, which is in implementation in Nigeria by Oxfam through its strategic partners, including, Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group (NDEBUMOG). The retreat was aimed at deepening knowledge about human rights, democratic governance and induction of pioneer members into Nigeria Civic Space Protection Alliance (NCSPA) to enable the members have deeper reflections on issues of governance, accountability, inclusivity and civic space protection.
Participants were drawn from stakeholders across NDEBUMOG 26 affiliates/shadow budget groups, representatives from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Enugu state. Lead presentations from resource persons stimulated deliberations at the retreat.
OBSERVATIONS / CONCERNS / RECOMMENDATIONS:
Following deeper reflections on issues of governance, democratic sustainability, accountability, inclusivity, civic space protection, human rights observation, inclusive fiscal governance, alliance building and nonviolent struggles, among others, participants endorsed as follows:
- Inclusivity and human rights protection, particularly, with respect to women is a far cry from the standards in developed democracies. Participants expressed concern over lack of openness, accountability and transparency, which are part of what makes democracy unique.
- Peoples’ voices are systematically being suppressed, forcing many to live in fear and prefers to suffer in silence, instead of raising their voices against bad governance.
- Insecurity has gotten to a feverish situation, making many to live in fear, with psychological upheaval that is not helping mental health of many.
- Hunger, unemployment, inflation and high cost of living is ravaging the society, resulting in extreme hardship that needs a rejigging in poverty reduction measures, such as, conditional cash transfer schemes, economic and fiscal incentives that will benefit the poor, bridging social gaps and reduces economic and social inequality.
- Participants demand that budget and fiscal processes, should be made an inclusive process and enabler for social stability and economic justice.
- Civil society groups and citizens, including, women are encouraged to show interest on issues that affects them, especially, concerning monitoring and tracking of programs/projects that are contained in budget documents of Local Government Areas, States and Federal Government, including, that projects of interventionist agencies, like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, among others. Participants were encouraged to begin to modalities in place for the monitoring of the implementation of the 3% Petroleum Industry Act’s Host Communities Fund when the implementation begins. Participants demand enabling environment to allow women easy and smooth participation in the PIA’s host communities fund.
Participants commended NDEBUMOG and OXFAM for organizing the retreat, which provided them an opportunity to enhanced their knowledge on issues of civic inclusion, shadow budget model, budget monitoring and evaluation, human rights observation and civic space protection, among others.
At the end of the retreat, 65 participants, were inducted into Nigeria Civic Space Protection Alliance, who expressed commitment to take the issue of protection of civic space and human rights seriously. Nigerian Civic Space Protection Alliance was unveiled during this event.
Members of the Communique Drafting Committee;
For Shadow Budget Groups;
[1] Faith Udo [2] Unyime Nathan [3] Ekaete Udondatta
For Nigeria Civic Space Protection Alliance;
[1] Stiv Obodoekwe [2] Raymond Victor [3] Princess Egbe [4] High Chief (Dr) George-Hill Anthony.A One Day capacity building workshop on women’s inclusion through the implementation of the 3% Host Communities Fund as provided in the PIA, 2021, was organized on Friday, July 8, 2022 by Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group (NDEBUMOG), with support from OXFAM in Nigeria at Southern Star Hotel, Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
The meeting was part of NDEBUMOG’s 30% campaign for women economic inclusion in the implementation of the 3% PIA’s Host Communities Fund embarked upon by the organization with support from Oxfam.
The event was aimed at building capacity, knowledge and understanding of selected host communities’ stakeholders on how to identify economic and livelihood opportunities in the extractive sector, particularly, through enablement of the Petroleum Industry Act. Part of the objectives of the training was to create awareness for participants concerning the 3% Host Communities Fund and to encourage them to be part of the campaign.
Participants at this event were drawn from stakeholders in the civil society, the media, NDEBUMOG’s affiliates and communities from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers and Bayelsa state. Lead presentations by resource persons formed the basis for deliberations.
OBSERVATIONS / CONCERNS / RECOMMENDATIONS:
Participants expressed concern that in spite of previous interventions in the Niger Delta, such as, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Amnesty Program, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, and Niger Delta Basin & Rural Development Authority (NDB&RDA), among others, there are no impacts or measurable infrastructural revival in the oil producing region. This, they noted is because of lack of inclusion, programmatic reconciliations, needs assessment and exclusion of Niger Delta people, especially, women in such interventions. Equally, citizens’ inability to demand accountability has contributed to poor democratic returns in the Niger Delta.
Participants noted that aggravated environmental pollution caused by decades of oil exploration in the Niger Delta has placed extra burden on sustainable income and livelihood for families in the Niger Delta region, especially, on women, who bears greater burden for care to their families.
Participants observed that women are the most affected by pollution on sources of livelihood, domestic water use, including ponds and rivers. Therefore, participants called for the inclusion of women in the implementation of the 3% PIA’s Host Communities Fund, noting that women are better placed to achieve the objectives of supporting local initiatives through socioeconomic opportunities that the PIA’s Host Communities Fund envisages.
Participants called on the government to ensure that host communities women are included in all strata to be set up to implement the Host Communities Fund, saying, women equally have the constitutional right to participate in governance.
Specifically, government should ensure that appointments into the Trust for the fund and other appointments should consider 30% composition for women. Also, appointment into Host Communities Management Committees should consider 30% composition for women, while capital funds for host communities should be equitably distributed to favour women and men, equitably.
Participants resolved to be part of the 30% campaign, including, monitoring the implementation of the 3%, when it begins.
CONCLUSIONParticipants commended NDEBUMOG and OXFAM for organizing the capacity building, which provided them an opportunity to enhanced their knowledge on issues of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act, especially, as it relates to the 3% Host Communities Fund and inclusion of women.
Signed:
Obodoekwe Stiv – Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor, NDEBUMOG Headquarters.
Princess Egbe – Operation Rescue, Bayelsa State
Raymond Victor – NDEBUMOG Affiliates
