{"id":124042,"date":"2025-11-25T21:03:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124042"},"modified":"2025-11-25T21:03:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:03:27","slug":"non-implementation-of-pia-funds-cost-niger-delta-lost-%e2%82%a61-65trn-reps-cttee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/non-implementation-of-pia-funds-cost-niger-delta-lost-%e2%82%a61-65trn-reps-cttee\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Implementation of PIA Funds Cost Niger\u00a0 Delta Lost \u20a61.65trn-Reps C’ttee\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n
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The House of Representatives Committee on the South South Development Commission has warned that Nigeria\u2019s failure to activate two crucial funding provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has denied the Niger Delta an estimated \u20a61.27 trillion to \u20a61.65 trillion intended for environmental cleanup and decommissioning of ageing oil assets since 2021.<\/div>\n
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Chairman of the committee, Hon. Julius Gbaboj\u00f6r Pondi, issued the warning on Tuesday during an interactive session at the National Assembly, convened to examine why the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund and the Environmental Remediation Fund have remained dormant more than three years after the PIA came into force.<\/div>\n
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According to Pondi, submissions before the committee show that the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund \u201cshould have accrued between \u20a6850 billion and \u20a61.1 trillion,\u201d while the Environmental Remediation Fund \u201cought to have realised no less than \u20a6420 billion to \u20a6550 billion\u201d within the same period.<\/div>\n
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Calling the delay \u201ca direct assault on environmental justice,\u201d he stressed that the PIA was enacted to ensure oil companies bear the full cost of cleaning up pollution and dismantling obsolete infrastructure.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThese funds were created so that the people of the Niger Delta would no longer be forced to carry the burden of oil pollution on their backs,\u201d Pondi said. \u201cYet four years later, the funds remain untouched, while farmlands are poisoned, rivers are unsafe, and entire communities are struggling to survive the consequences.\u201d<\/div>\n
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He also criticised the regulators responsible for implementing the funds, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), describing their handling of the matter as \u201ca troubling display of institutional incapacity.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe cannot continue to operate in darkness. There must be clarity, transparency, and urgency. If the current regulators cannot deliver, then we will have to consider creating a new agency dedicated specifically to managing these funds.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The session brought together stakeholders from NUPRC, NMDPRA, NOSDRA, SSDC, and the Ministries of Petroleum and Environment, with lawmakers demanding a clear and credible roadmap for activating the funds.<\/div>\n
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Reaffirming the committee\u2019s position, Pondi said lawmakers would intensify oversight to ensure host communities benefit from the law.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe National Assembly cannot and will not look the other way while environmental liabilities pile up and the people suffer the consequences,\u201d he said. \u201cThe era of shifting cleanup responsibilities to impoverished communities must end once and for all.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n