BALANCING SUSTAINABILITY AND PROSPERTITY: THE IMPACT OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ACT, 2021 ON NIGERIA’S HOST COMMUNITIES

This paper examined the inconsistencies in the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations, 2022 aim at fostering sustainable prosperity and harmonious relationship between the settlors and the host communities in Nigeria. The work adopts doctrinal method wherein the researchers deploy primary and secondary data. In the primary data, the work used information from various statutory provisions as well as case laws. In the secondary source, the research adopts and analyses information from textbooks, journal papers and internet materials. Also, the researchers interviewed some board of trustees (BoT) members of the host communities’ development trust and the natives in the host communities with a view to elicit data on the impact of the PIA, 2021 and its regulation 2022 on the welfare and wellbeing of the host communities. The research found that the PIA 2021 chapter 3 and NUPHCDR 2022 donate powers to the Settloi and the BoT for example, to incorporate the HCDT. Again, the Act makes the Settloi’s representatives the principal signatory to the account of the HCDT. The paper recommends, among other things, that besides the novel host communities development provision, there is need to review the Act to cloth the host communities with the function to establish the trust and appoint members of the HCDT. And, the NUPRC should be made to play supervisory role over the trust, while the settlor’s power should be restricted to the payment of the prescribed actual annual operating expenditure into the trust fund.