Chief Style Benjamin from Bayelsa State, is the National President of Host Communities of Nigeria producing oil and gas. In this interview with PAULINE ONYIBE, Benjamin wants the 60 per cent of the 13 per cent monthly derivation fund gotten fund be given to Host Communities first before the inclusion of state government in the administration of the current Host Communities Development Trust Fund captured in the Petroleum Industry Act.
Some Bayelsans are asking for the establishment of a Community Peace Commission, which they said will be used to sustain the existing peace going on in the state and by extension, the Niger Delta Region. From your angle as the National President of Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas, how do you see it bearing in mind that one of the things that drive conflict is oil and gas politics?
The Community Peace Commission could be used by some people, because they worked for the government, or because you are doing some nasty jobs for the government. At the end of the day, a government comes to power, and feels that these are bad people they can work with. And maybe, if it doesn’t work that way, they will now say because the government didn’t give them an appointment, they will go back to the creek so that they can vandalize pipelines, so that the government will give them what they want; it will be a bad precedent. If that is why they want to establish the commission, I will say no. But, if the communities buy into safeguarding their facilities, I will support it. Because as we are today, every community is happy because projects are ongoing everywhere. To tell you the truth, over N300 billion has been pumped into the Niger Delta Region just in the last three years of PIA.
Every community you see in this Niger Delta, there are projects upon projects going on. If such a body is formed in order to help communities to stand firm and fight against the criminality that some disgruntled elements envisage to do or undo, it will be a good one. But if it is politically masterminded for some persons to hijack and do bad with it, I say no.
But do you think if they had established the Bayelsa State Oil Producing Areas Commission (BASOPADEC), that this Peace Commission that they are pushing for would have done the same work?
These are some of the key issues we are talking about. The state government is not fair to the host communities. And, they are now saying that they are not being carried along in this PIA. And that communities are now coming to bring problems for them to solve. Charity begins at home. The 13 per cent derivation has been with us for over two decades, yet they have never called a town hall meeting one day of the real communities that produce oil and gas. But they are now pushing everybody to the Ministry of Mineral Resources. Anybody can go there but we want our own commission, a commission that will oversee all these and work with the ministry.
For example, just as we have the NNPC, we still have the Ministry of Mineral Resources. The governments that have come and gone, I don’t know if they have at all. The one they are calling Special Adviser on Oil Matters, have they been able to tell them these things that ought to be done? You cannot use the Traditional Rulers’ Council to handle oil and gas matters. These are issues begging for answers. The government cannot answer but they are interested in accumulating wealth, while they can’t give back to the community.
How much has the government given to the host communities? From the inception of this 13% derivation which we, the host communities, fought for, and they hijacked it, and they want this one again. Did they support the PIA fight before now? Were they funding the movement? Now, communities are happy. They are doing their projects, not when one comes and feels that the 13 per cent derivation is from my community, and if you didn’t produce a governor, your community will not benefit. If you don’t produce a deputy governor or commissioner, your community will not benefit while the bulk of funds are coming from these communities at the creeks. No good roads, no good drinking water, no health infrastructure, no good school sighted in those areas. It is mind bugging.
But there is a report that some of the communities are in court because of the fund. How do you react to that as the National President of HOSTCOM?
That is not correct. I will disproof people on that. There are skirmishes here and there. In any given society, you can’t see one 100 per cent of the running of any organisation. Even when this president came in, not everybody accepted him with a good heart. There were court cases here and there, but gradually, it is stabilizing. Likewise, people were ungrounded before this PIA came and some of them have been in G for MOU for over three decades. It has become a household thing and with the new format that came and changed these things, some of them were not having the opportunity to run the system again and those are the cases that are causing problems.
And. some of the other issues boil down to leadership tussles. And with their influence, they are now stage managing the affairs and that is what is causing the problem. As the President of HOSTCOM, I oversee every community because I have been travelling from one community to another and from one state to another in the Niger Delta. And I have been having town hall meetings with communities and traditional rulers, but I tell you and, I’m quoting a figure that over N300 billion has been pumped into Niger Delta host communities. And it is a plus and projects are spreading across the communities.
If every community is in court, I don’t think that all those projects will be going on. If there are cases, they are very minute. Yes. We have splinters of them in some trusts, but very few. And we urge them to do the needful, settle their problems and let projects keep running and that is what is on ground.
Some people are also complaining that people are operating some of the trusts from outside the country. What is your advice to those trying to foist their people on the community’s trust? The trust board members are also agitating for an increase in their monthly allowance?
I have already mentioned that some of them have been in this GMOU arrangement for over three decades and they have a monopoly on maneuvering things for themselves. We have those reports and few areas have those problems. Not only in Bayelsa. I know of Rivers, Delta, Imo, AkwaIbom. Almost every state, the same thing is the issue. These guys have been there using the GMOU like their cocoa farm. So, with the change of things, they have appointed their sons and wives to run the trust, but it is actually a community affair. The good thing is that everybody is learning. So, we can be able to make changes and those things will definitely be checked.
Then, the issue of allowance, there is a stipulated amount that has earmarked but people are funny. They never knew that this is a community service. They are not taking it as a community service. You are not coming to do political work. So, when they see the billions starched in their account, they will be like, we are supposed to have like five hundred million naira from this money. That is the concept, so if they are given fifty thousand naira as a sitting allowance to do community work, they want to be paid like politicians or they plan to divert the funds.
As I travel from place to place, we are experiencing it and it is common in almost all the states. You are called to serve, you are not called to come and make yourself rich. You are called to change the narrative. We fought in the national assembly, we did all sorts of things to get it done and we fought gallantly, nothing was given to us. We spent our money and resources, denied our families luxury but now that the food has come, different people are managing it. We are still asking the government to do more for our communities. So, the one that they are benefiting from, they should be content with that so that our communities will develop.
Some time ago, you talked about gas flaring compensation or royalty. How far is that money? Has it been paid? Was gas flaring captured in the PIA?
PIA didn’t capture gas flaring, but even the little that was captured in Section 104, it is not clearly beneficial to the host communities. And, in Section 52 of the PIA, they said that the mainstream gas infrastructure funds should go to the Ministry of Infrastructure with royalties here and there. I think it is not the right thing to do because gas flaring funds is specially charged because gas that is flared is poisoning the indigenes of communities where this gas is flared. It is a penalty for emitting this dangerous substance into the air. It is a penalty. That is what the money is meant for – to ameliorate the suffering of the communities and they now said that this money should be paid to the Ministry of Infrastructure. It is an aberration. And they will use that fund under the discretion of the Chief Executive of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). That is what they said which is an aberration.
You can’t carry the money that poison the people of Brass to go and give to the North or West as ecological funds. It is an aberration and we are not comfortable that they domiciled that money in that ministry which is not good enough. Separate the fund from other issues. They domiciled there in conjunction with others which communities in the Niger Delta will not benefit. Now the fund is channeled to people in the North or West where the gas is not flared. How can you take the money that belongs here to Abuja? Is there any gas flare in Abuja? Or you are pushing the money to Lagos. Is there any gas flare in Lagos?
Have they released the money at all?
They are paying and NDPR is collecting the money as I’m talking to you. But the one we fought for from 1985 to 2001 before the creation of this PIA, has not been paid. That money is still hanging, but we are doing everything possible to see that the money is released to the host communities to ameliorate their suffering of the past. The host communities demanded N98 billion from 1985 to 2010. That one, the past administration had already made approval for it but we are still pushing for the release. And, we are still praying that this government should help us pay the money because, I know that President Bola Tinubu, has good intentions for the Niger Delta. So, he will be able to do that to write his name in gold.
You said you have been going round the Niger Delta. What is your general assessment of the whole thing in terms of development using the PIA funds?
Well, a lot of things are ongoing. We are coming to inaugurate some projects in Rivers State. They have put in a lot of projects in place that include scholarships. On the 28th of this month (September,2025), we will all be storming Rivers State. I will be there with the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission man (NUPRC). It is going to be a two-day programme. It is massive and that is what we want every community to be doing. So, I have been sent by NUPRC, to go and interface on their behalf to know some of their problems and bring feedback, so that they will be able to meet the settlers. And, we are doing that at the grassroots and giving reports to them.
And the spontaneous progress so far with the projects that are springing up, is very good for Niger Delta and we are still expecting many because many trusts have not yet started, and if all the trusts had taken off, I tell you within the next five years, Niger Delta will see glory from this PIA and it is the best for our people.
Although, the money is not enough. We need an upward review to 10% because with the way and manner Host Communities Oil and Gas matters are treated, it is quite different from Solid Mineral Act. So, we need not to be marginalized. Treat us fairly. If you are mining Gold and you are mining Oil, mining is mining. So, they should not treat us differently and that is our cry that we are not comfortable. So, when you look at gold and other mineral resources from the North, in the West and the way they did it in the South East, it is quite different. You can see when they come to the Niger Delta, they will be killing people here and there and barricading our Rivers. Bring billions of naira and shut our mouths and do their business. But they are not doing that in the North. Gold is free. People go there and mine and take it out without being questioned which is not fair but when we raise our voices, they tag us Niger Delta militants in order to shut us up.
They take our wealth from here and store it in Abuja and Lagos, but we have Port Harcourt, we have Warri. We have Uyo. These are key areas. We have Benin, where all these mighty offices ought to be sighted. We have Yenagoa, but they took them out from here thereby, making us travel far and wide. It is not the best for us. And they are paying rent to those areas. Just like Nigeria was doing before. Nigeria has oil and somebody came and took over the oil and pushed it out to the outer world and refined it, went and bought it and brought the refined product to us. Is there anything wrong if Shell has a refinery in Nigeria? Is there anything wrong for AGIP to have a refinery in Nigeria or Total Energy or Exxon Mobil, so that they will employ our people and increase our economy? We are broke because they connived with our leaders. They didn’t foresee that those things should be done in our country, so that it will generate employment for our youths. And we will make more gains and our economy will boom and forex will appreciate and people will now come and buy naira instead of dollar. It is a pathetic story, but I believe that I will see the change in my lifetime.
What did you take on this agitation by the Bayelsa State Government that it was not captured in the administration of the Host Communities Development Fund of PIA but that when the communities have issues, they run to them?
Well, I will still say that charity begins at home. Give some percentage of the 13 per cent oil derivation to the communities. They collect 13 per cent derivation monthly. We need 60% of that money to be shared to all the host communities in Bayelsa State. If that is done, then, we can start from somewhere. The one you are holding, you are not bringing and you are asking for this one. For about 25 years, you are holding that money meant for communities and you are talking about the PIA fund. Why?
