The National Assembly has taken steps to address the controversies surrounding the agitation of Finima Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State to be recognized as host community to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) gas liquefaction plant in Bonny Island.
In furtherance of this, Kristina Reports reliably learnt that the House of Representatives, through its Committee on Host Communities, has summoned stakeholders in the matter to a meeting in Abuja today.
Kristina Reports learnt that these include the Finima Community, Nigeria LNG, Finima Capacity Development Committee (FCDC), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Bonny Chiefs Council (BCC), Bonny Kingdom Local Content Compliance Committee (BKLCCC), and Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), amongst others.
After six trains of the gas liquefaction plant and 25 years of the Nigeria LNG’s operations in Bonny Island, the Finima Community, during a protest on Thursday, June 10, 2021, said it regretted that it had yet to reap the benefits accruable from the company’s operations on its home soil.
It stated through one its elders, Dagogo Brown that, in pursuit of its recognition as host community of the Nigeria LNG, it would utilize every avenue to achieve that, stressing that the Community Content Guidelines (CCG) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, was definitive in its position on what constitutes a host community with regards to the Oil and Gas business environment.
A senior member of the Buoye Omuso (Brown) Chieftaincy House, who preferred anonymity as he was not authorized to speak on the matter, told Kristina Reports that the Finima Community is seeking legislative clarification on the provisions of the NOGICD Act 2010, with particular emphasis on the CCG of the Act.
The source further revealed that the FCDC would be drawing the attention of the House of Representatives Committee to the provision of the CCG which provides inter alia that, “the expression, “Host Community” means “the community where oil and gas operations/projects take place.”
“Impacted Community: Right of Way community due to pipeline passage, road access or any other “conduit” (creek, aerodrome, etc.) that is significant to the success of the operations in the host community.”
The NOGICD Act was signed into law in April 22, 2010 by the then President Goodluck Jonathan to provide a governance framework and engagement template for the oil and gas industry as they interface with the communities in their areas of operation.
Efforts to confirm this development with the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Deekor, proved abortive as at the time of this report, as he has neither taken calls to his mobile number nor responded to short message service (SMS) messages sent to him via his mobile line.
Checks by Kristina Reports indicate that the land where the NLNG plant is situated is part of a parcel of land jointly owned and leased to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) under a 1958 lease agreement by the Brown and Jumbo chieftaincy Houses, with Bonny Kingdom as a consenting party.
It is expected that the Nigeria LNG would brief the Committee, when it appears before it, that it has always captured the multifarious interests in its operations in Bonny Island, and possibly reference its position on the host community status issue, wherein it stated on its website that:
“Our core host is Bonny Kingdom. The Nigeria LNG plant is located in Finima; a community in Bonny Kingdom. Bonny Kingdom hosts other major NLNG facilities like the Water-Wells (in Abalamabie), the NLNG Residential Area and six GTS communities.”
The House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities may also be relying on the NOGICD Act 2010, the Bonny Kingdom Constitution, and other relevant documents to determine the veracity of the claims of the Finima Community, and advise the relevant stakeholders on the way forward.
Further actions may include reference to the position of the Nigeria LNG regarding the hosting status of its Corporate Head Office (CHO), which is said to be jointly held by Amadi-Ama and Ogbum-nu-Abali Communities; advising the House on its findings and, possibly, pushing for the passing of a resolution on the issue on the floor of the House.
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Checks by Kristina Reports indicate that the land where the NLNG plant is situated is part of a parcel of land jointly owned and leased to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) under a 1958 lease agreement by the Brown and Jumbo chieftaincy Houses, with Bonny Kingdom as a consenting party.