Eket, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria (22 June 2026)
Stakeholders from Onna Local Government Area, an oil-producing community in Akwa Ibom State on Friday gathered in Eket to demand urgent accountability from oil and gas operators and regulatory agencies on gas flaring, hydrocarbon pollution, and the implementation of Host Community Development Trust provisions under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The one-day Community Sensitisation and Capacity Building Workshop, organised by Onna Stakeholders in partnership with Policy Alert, drew community members, women and youth representatives, civil society advocates, and extractive sector analysts to Simidarl Cakes & More, Asang Road, Eket. The workshop was designed to strengthen community understanding of rights and advocacy tools available under Nigeria’s current oil and gas governance framework.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Policy Alert, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, underscored the importance of grounding community advocacy in legal and policy knowledge. He stated: “Gas flaring has persisted in the Niger Delta not because there are no laws against it, but because the communities most affected have been kept at the margins of the conversations that matter. The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 made promises to host communities, promises of development, participation, and protection. But promises on paper mean nothing without communities empowered to claim them. When the people of Onna understand their rights and know how to demand accountability, they become impossible to ignore.”
Mfon Gabriel, Executive Director of the Peer Foundation and Extractive Sector Analyst, led participants through a detailed review of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, focusing on community rights, responsibilities, and the Host Community Development Trust mechanism. Participants observed that despite the PIA’s promise of community benefits, many communities in Onna remain unaware of their legal entitlements, and that Host Community Development Trust funds have not yet translated into meaningful, community-directed development outcomes.
Ekemini Simon, Senior Reporter and Investigative Journalist at Premium Times, presented on the environmental, health, and livelihood consequences of gas flaring and hydrocarbon pollution. He highlighted how persistent flaring releases toxic methane emissions and particulate matter that contaminate air, soil, and water sources, with devastating and disproportionate consequences for women, children, and the elderly living in oil-producing communities.
The workshop also featured a screening of Flaring Lives: The Human Cost of Nigeria’s Methane Emissions, which anchored powerful community reflection on the realities of gas flaring across the Niger Delta. Participants described the documentary as a direct mirror of conditions in their own communities, reinforcing the urgency for collective advocacy action.
At the close of the workshop, participants adopted a Community Communiqué demanding, among other things: immediate enforcement of gas flaring regulations and publication of penalties against defaulting operators; full transparency in Host Community Development Trust fund management with active community participation; and timely remediation and reparations for communities bearing the environmental and health burden of oil production.
Participants committed to conducting community-level step-down engagements to broaden awareness of the PIA provisions and advocacy tools shared at the workshop. The discussions reaffirmed the need for sustained, coordinated community engagement as the foundation for holding government and oil companies accountable.
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