ABSTRACT
Since six and a half decades, oil and gas exploration in the host communities has dehumanised the people geographically referred to as the Niger Deltans, while also destroying their environment. Apart from the environmental degradation of the host communities, the welfare of those in the oil producing areas have been neglected. These has led to an age long agitation by the host communities indigenes, stakeholders, scholars, Non-governmental organisations, State governments and self-styled militant groups. Hence there was the a paradigm shift to directly improve on the old institutional legal and policy framework that addresses the challenges occasioned by oil and gas exploration activities in the host communities of Nigeria.
In response to this, the Nigerian Government has enacted pieces of legislation of which the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 is the latest attempt by the Government to address these challenges. Specifically Chapter 3 of the PIA 2021 was dedicated to the development of the host communities. In addressing the issues that have been raised over the years, the PIA 2021 introduced some innovations of the host communities.. These innovations has attracted divergent views from different stakeholders.
Therefore, the criticism by major stakeholders of the oil industry in respect of the innovations introduced by the PIA 2021 will be analysed. In addition, there will be an appraisal of these provisions to examine the extent in which the sources of conflictual relationship between the host communities and other stakeholders have been mitigated.
The divergent views expressed about the PIA 2021 indicates that more work need to be done by the National Assembly though it is a laudable, comprehensive legislation that holistically address the challenges that confronts the Petroleum industries in Nigeria as well as the plight of the host communities of oil bearing region.
