HostCom Colloquiums

Continual agitations for a better deal for oil-bearing and producing communities have become a permanent feature of the policy discourse in the oil and gas sector. It is in this regard that OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative in July, 2018 convened the inaugural HostCom Colloquium with a focus on the Petroleum Host and Impacted communities Development Bill (PHICDB) then before the National Assembly. The event which held at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, drew participation from policy makers, community activists, CSOs and the media. The Chief Whip of the House of Representatives and chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on PIB was the chair of the event which produced some notable recommendations on how to engage communities affected by oil exploration and production across Nigeria.  

As part of its Host Community engagements, OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative hosted Community Media Executives and Practitioners in the Niger Delta Region on the PIB on November 12, 2020 at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The objective of the parley was to expand grassroots awareness and engagement on the Bill and expose journalists and media practitioners at the local level in the Niger Delta to the nitty-gritty of the host community component of the bill. Participation was drawn from community media associations and organizations in Rivers, Delta, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo and Cross River States. 

On November 17, 2020, OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative organized the second Host Community (HostCom) Colloquium to deliberate on the relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and draw up common positions for oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta region. The Colloquium had in attendance Oil Host Communities’ representatives, members of the National Assembly, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the Media. The event was declared open by Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy President of the Senate while Hon. Henry Nwawuba, Deputy Chairman, Committee on Niger Delta, House of Representatives made a keynote address.

Another HostCom event was a Retreat on the PIB organized by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative for the  South-South Caucus of the House of Representatives held on March 11 – 12th, 2021 at the Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, Akwa State. The retreat had in attendance principal officers of the House of Representatives, including Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, and Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Peter Akpatason. The event was declared open by His Excellency, Chief Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo.

The Retreat benefited from expert presentations on the industry and thereafter deliberated on the critical terms of PIB with a target to maximizing its impact in the Niger Delta Region and oil and gas producing communities in particular.