Five oil producing communities in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have accused the Board of Trustees of the Egi Igburu Host Community Development Trust of failing to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of funds meant for community development.
The affected communities, Egita, Akafta, Ohiuaga, Ikiri and Obite, alleged that despite benefiting from the three per cent provision for host communities under the Petroleum Industry Act, there have been few or no visible development projects in their areas.
Speaking on behalf of the communities, the Paramount Ruler of Ohiuaga, Chief Bright Abali, said the situation had persisted for about four years since Renaissance Energy acquired the assets formerly operated by Shell. He alleged that the leadership of the Trust, headed by Ekwueme Orikoha, had failed to adequately involve stakeholders and the host communities in decisions concerning the use of funds.
Other stakeholders who spoke to Today FM said the communities had agreed to replace Orikoha with Cosmos Wokoma as the new leader of the Trust.
Wokoma assured the communities that his administration would prioritise transparency, accountability and the implementation of meaningful development projects across the affected communities.
