Petroleum Industry Act will bring lasting benefits, Buhari tells host communities

President Muhammadu Buhari says the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will bring lasting benefits to the oil producing communities and asks them to accept them.
Buhari on Wednesday stated this in his address on the PIA, which he signed into law on Monday.
The allocation of three per cent oil companies’ operating expenses to the host communities has been criticised by some stakeholders as insufficient.
Seriake Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa West; Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa State; Edwin Clark, an Ijaw national leader, are among those that said that three per cent was unacceptable.
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) also described the signing of the PIB into law by Buhari as a “callous act”.
Buhari in his speech however said the PIA would bring “real and lasting benefits” to the host communities.
He also said, “The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 creates a regulatory environment that would ensure efficiency and accountability across the oil and gas value chain and reposition the NNPC to a commercially driven National Petroleum Company that is accountable to the Federation.
“The Act also provides for a direct benefit framework that will enable sustainable development of host communities.
“I appeal to the host communities to look carefully at the contents of the Bill which in the implementation will bring real and lasting benefits to them.”
Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, had said that host communities could get $500 million annually from the new PIA.