Spaces for Change|S4C, with support from the Ford Foundation, is excited to unveil the report titled, “Transitioning from GMOU to HCDT: Wins, Challenges and Further Actions.” This report of the Technical Session of the Nigerian House of Representatives’ Committee on Host Communities examines the extent to which indigenous and international petroleum companies are living up to their legal obligation to deliver social and economic benefits to the oil-producing areas in Nigeria through the new mechanism called “Host Community Development Trusts (HCDT).”
The HCDT, mandated by Chapter 3 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, replaces the previous benefit-sharing mechanism called the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) wherein oil and gas companies executed benevolent, or sometimes, negotiated agreements with their host communities, committing to fund and/or carry out certain community development projects in their areas of operation. With a focus on the critical role of the HCDT in promoting sustainable prosperity and peaceful co-existence between oil companies and host communities, what this report has done is to highlight the wins and challenges associated with HCDT implementation, the emerging good and bad practices, as well as the disparate experiences and modalities established by petroleum corporations for transitioning from GMOU to HCDT.
