Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
Oil-rich communities of Delta State have urged relevant government agencies, including the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), to prevail on the Asset Management Team and Sterling Global Oil — operators of OML 26 — to quickly meet their full obligations on 3 per cent Operating Expenditure (OPEX) Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) or risk a shutdown of their operations.
The communities under the aegis of Isoko Grassroots Mobilisers, in a statement signed on their behalf by their coordinators — Erere Okpako and Angela Akpofa — noted that Chapter 3 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is very clear about the responsibility of the settlor to the host communities, adding that 3 per cent of the settlors’ yearly Operating Expenditure (OPEX) is set aside for community development through the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT).
The statement said: “Having waited patiently for the Asset Management Team and Sterling Global Oil Exploration and Energy Company, working with the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) to operationalise the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Delta State host communities under OML 26 have said they can no longer wait and are now prepared to take their destinies in their hands.
“But strangely, the settlor only made a paltry remittance to the HCDT of OML 26 contrary to the PIA.
“This was in October 2025 nearly two years after the inauguration of the HCDT. Curiously, the remittance was short paid by about N2.4 billion.
“The Board of Trustees (BOT) raised an alarm of the short payments by drawing the settlor’s attention to the shortfall in November 2025 but the company didn’t respond until December 22, 2025 when a virtual meeting held without any resolution despite the assurance of the company that it would respond within two weeks.”
According to the statement, a petition to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) followed in January 2026 which now hosted a tripartite meeting of NEPL, the HCDT BOT at the NUPRC Abuja office on April 15, 2026 where the operator categorically said the shortfall was allegedly spent on Special Intervention Projects contrary to the PIA 2021 and the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) before the advent of the PIA.
The statement explained that although the PIA allows for a one-year transition, the one-year post-PIA elapsed in August 2022.
“But we the stakeholders under the Isoko Grassroots Mobilisers are worried that the company, Asset Management Team (AMT) led by Sterling Global Oil Exploration and Energy Company is playing games and we can no longer accept this.
“We are aware of the efforts of the BOT to ensure development of the communities but paucity of funds has been a clog in this direction.
“Before the Abuja meeting, we were aware of the security meeting the Isoko North Council Chairman, Hon. Godwin Ogorugba, held with the security representatives in the local government council area with NEPL and the BOT to nip in the bud any attempt to block the roads to the oil installations but that too yielded no results. This was on April 9, 2026.
“We are not unmindful of the implications of a blockade but we can no longer wait endlessly for developments that are not forthcoming.
“These communities have lived without electricity and other amenities for ages, whereas the funds were meant for projects development in OML 26 as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA).
“The Isoko Grassroots Mobilizlsers have been monitoring the activities of the Asset Management Team and Sterling Global Oil Exploration and Energy in OML 26 and note with sadness, the lukewarm response to the underdevelopment of the communities,” the statement added.
The aggrieved communities alleged that a strange development not known to the PIA was introduced by the company where it said the funds deducted from 2023 to 2025 were adjusted OPEX.
According to them, this is strange to the law, thus creating the impression that the company was playing games with the 3 per cent OPEX as stipulated in PIA thereby starving the communities the necessary funds for development.
“The HCDT is handicapped in every material particular in the absence of the funds for projects development.
“It is expected that the tripartite meeting held on April, 15, 2026 hosted by NUPRC with Nigeria Exploration and Production Limited(NEPL), the Asset Management Team, Sterling Global Oil Exploration and Energy Company and representatives of the board of OML 26 Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) in attendance may resolve the dispute but that meeting ended without any concrete resolution.
“NUPRC only directed NEPL to revert to them in two week’s time with detailed documented evidence of special intervention projects executed with that shortfall.
“We of the Isoko Grassroot Mobilisers are not happy with this recent claim of the Assets Management team and Sterling Global Oil Exploration and Energy Company of the alleged Special Intervention Projects.
“By this statement, we call on NUPRC to prevail on Asset Management Team and Sterling Global Oil to do the right thing by remitting the shortfall payment to the HCDT without fail.
“It is on record that OML 26 is lagging behind in terms of infrastructural development in the Niger Delta.
“Our findings have confirmed that no single project has been executed since the PIA took off in OML 26, since February 13, 2024 when the BOT was inaugurated.
“We therefore, call on relevant government agencies to prevail on the Asset Management Team and Sterling Global Oil to resolve the issue and pay all the outstanding monies to avert shutdown of their operations in OML 26.
“Oil exploration should ordinarily bring development to host communities but from the antics of Sterling Global, the Assets Management Team and NEPL, oil exploration is almost turning to a curse to the host communities.
“But as critical stakeholders, we are ready to mobilise all our people to end this injustice once and fall all. We say no to economic oppression and sabotage. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” the oil communities warned.
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