Stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have commended the positive impact of the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) on oil-producing communities, while calling for stronger collaboration among operators, regulators, and communities, as well as enhanced capacity building for effective implementation.

The commendations were made at the 2025 HCDT Roundtable held in Lagos, themed “Four Years After the Petroleum Industry Act: Rethinking the Experience, Restating the Future.” The event was organised by First Fiduciary Limited and AO2LAW in partnership with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The roundtable brought together government officials, community representatives, industry players, and legal and development experts to review the progress and challenges of the HCDT, a statutory initiative introduced under Chapter 3 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Bidemi Olumide, Executive Chairman of First Fiduciary Limited and Managing Partner of AO2LAW, described the HCDT as a legal framework designed to foster the sustainable prosperity of host communities. He highlighted that the trust arrangement aims to deliver well-funded development projects and build lasting peace between oil operators and communities.

“The global energy landscape is shifting, and host communities expect more, and rightly so. Operators desire their sustainable profit margins, and rightly so. Regulators have a mandate to apply the laws, and rightly so. Our ability to identify the confluence where all these expectations meet is the ticker for a Roundtable such as this,” Olumide said.

Delivering the keynote address titled “The PIA HCDT Journey So Far: Achievements and the Road Ahead”, Engr. Olatokunbo Karimu, Assistant Director and Head of the Host Community Development Branch at NUPRC, said the Commission had received 43 applications from settlors, 184 for HCDT incorporation with 167 approvals granted for incorporation and 146 HCDTs registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Over N97.9 billion and $149.4 million have been remitted for host community projects, he revealed, with 228 projects initiated so far.

Karimu outlined the HCDT governance structure, which includes a Board of Trustees, a Management Committee, and an Advisory Committee composed of community representatives. He also shared key challenges, including legacy distrust, delays in incorporation and remittance, capacity gaps, interference from interest groups, and unrealistic expectations from some community members.

Panelists and participants stressed the importance of proper needs assessments in planning community projects, describing it as the “lifeblood” of the HCDT. They urged community members to avoid projecting personal interests over collective goals and called for the publication of audited HCDT accounts to promote transparency and public trust.

Stakeholders also noted that the HCDT framework had helped reduce vandalism, pipeline theft, and communal unrest in the Niger Delta, contrasting with the past when Global Memoranda of Understanding (GMOU) lacked legal backing and community ownership.

While acknowledging the HCDT’s success in promoting peace and partnership, stakeholders highlighted ongoing concerns, including financial burdens from overlapping contributions to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) demands, and the 3 percent annual contribution mandated by the PIA. They emphasized the need to build the capacity of HCDT boards and committees to effectively manage resources and deliver results.

The roundtable concluded with a strong call for improved collaboration among regulators, settlors, host communities, and state governments, and a reaffirmation of the need to ensure that HCDTs are run by qualified, transparent, and community-focused leadership.