The Federal Government has assured of its readiness to always ensure all-round development of oil-producing host communities in the country as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). Head, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Olusegun Ogunnubi, Warri Regional Office, gave the assurance in a statement made available to The Guardian. He said the Host Community Development Trust fund (HCDT) created by the Petroleum Industry Act, gave the Commission the statutory obligation of ensuring the settlors fund it for the concerned communities. “Through the HCDT, NUPRC will continue to ensure compliance from the settlors as regards their statutory responsibilities towards the concerned communities in which three per cent of their operating expenditure will be used to develop the communities,” he assured However, he asserted that if the concerned communities could not form a Trust Fund, the bulk of the funds would be used to develop projects defined by the communities. While commending stakeholders and communities in the state for their cooperation with the commission, he called for more support from the people of Ugborodo community and charged them on smooth-running of Escravos operations.
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