The Niger Delta Accountability and Resource Protection Network (NDARPN), an oil and gas watchdog, has denied allegations made by the House of Representatives Committee on the South South Development Commission that Nigeria has deprived the region of more than ₦1 trillion due to its failure to implement crucial Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) funds.
The group’s president, Comrade Ebikabo West, called the committee’s claims “sensational, misleading and potentially damaging to the investment stabilization the PIA has steadily cultivated” in a statement released in Port Harcourt on Friday.
According to West, the PIA’s implementation by the relevant regulatory agencies has been more effective and transparent than any pre-PIA structure, especially when it comes to managing host community development funds and environmental requirements.
He cautioned lawmakers against making partisan remarks that would “erode investor confidence or disrupt the delicate progress achieved so far.”
“To suggest that the Niger Delta has been denied trillions because the funds are not being operated in the dramatic fashion being portrayed is simply inaccurate,” stated West.
The PIA’s development provisions for host communities are being efficiently and closely monitored. With transparent oversight and accountability, the regulatory system now guarantees direct benefits to communities.
He claims that the PIA established enforceable duties that authorities are currently monitoring with much more robust compliance measures than were previously in place.
The story of “non-implementation,” he continued, disregards demonstrable advancements in environmental management and host communities.
We have to be careful not to distort regulatory procedures or use environmental concerns into weapons. West cautioned, “Such depictions weaken the collective fight for environmental justice and undermine the credibility of reforms.”
Additionally, he emphasized that Nigeria is gradually regaining the trust of international oil corporations that left the nation as a result of years of inconsistent regulations, confusing directions, and institutional pressure that “strangled investment.”
Nigeria today enjoys a stable legislative and fiscal environment following decades of instability. Allowing the appropriate agencies to closely adhere to the PIA’s directives is only prudent. The group continued, “Any attempt to drag them into political theatrics will jeopardize the gradual return of investor confidence.”
The National Assembly’s supervision role is crucial, according to NDARPN, but it must be supported by facts rather than presumptions that could lead to misunderstandings or conflict in the industry.
“Consolidation, not disturbance, is what the Niger Delta needs. Let the organizations that the PIA has enabled carry on with their work without excessive pressure. According to West, that is the most reliable route to sustainable development, environmental preservation, and accountability.
