Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill 2018

As part of the Petroleum Industry reforms, the Nigerian National Assembly recently held a public hearing on the Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill 2018 (the “Bill” or “Host Community Bill”) amongst other bills to be enacted by the National Assembly with regards to the Nigerian Petroleum Industry. The objective of the Bill is to provide direct social and economic benefits from petroleum operations to host and impacted communities. Also, the Bill seeks to enhance peaceful and harmonious coexistence between E & P companies on one hand and host and impacted communities on the other.

In this briefing note, we examine key provisions of the Bill highlighting grey areas in the Bill including the Bill’s potential impact on both producing companies and the host and impacted communities especially in light of the fact that this is the first ever legislation geared specifically towards the protection of host communities since the discovery and exploration of crude oil in Nigeria.

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Aligning ESG Practices in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector with Climate Change and Nigeria’s Net-Zero Goal by 2060

Nigeria’s oil and gas sector evolved over the decades. The sector has moved from an era where little or no effort was put towards addressing the negative impacts occasioned by oil exploration and other incendiary activities, the failure by the Federal Government (FG) to sign the Petroleum Industry Bill into Law and a plethora of socially related malaise that have affected the host communities; their source of livelihood and their living conditions to one where a robust Legislative framework coupled with Regulations have been put in place to make it align with global best practices.

HIGHLIGHTS OF AO2LAW’S WEBINAR: “PENSION FUND ADMINISTRATORS AND PENSION FUND CUSTODIANS: RETHINKING THE STRICTURES ON COMMON CONTROL.”

On the 17th of April 2024, the firm of Anaje. Olumide. Oke. Akinkugbe (carrying on business as AO2LAW®) held a stakeholders’ webinar with the theme: “Pension Fund Administrators and Pension Fund Custodians: Rethinking the Strictures on Common Control”. The webinar commenced with a keynote address delivered by Mr. Chinedu Anaje, FCIArb, a Partner at AO2LAW. In his address, Mr. Anaje highlighted the roles of the key players within the Nigerian pension industry and reiterated the need for continuous stakeholder engagement to ensure the growth and development of the pension industry in Nigeria. He equally expressed the view that while the extant law on pensions in Nigeria, the Pension Reform Act of 2014 (the “Act”) had been largely successful in actualising its objectives, it was imperative for the stakeholders within the sector to mull over a possible fine-tuning of certain provisions of the Act to ensure alignment with economic realities and international best practices in the administration of pensions.

A DECADE POST THE PENSION REFORM ACT 2014: ANY NEED FOR CHANGE?

Nigeria’s pension system has undergone significant transformations since its inception in 1951. Initially plagued with malpractices, budgetary issues, weak administration, and a lack of accountability, the system has evolved into a defined contribution scheme for both public and private sector employers and employees. In 2004, the Federal Government enacted the Pension Reform Act 2004 (“PRA 2004”), instituting the Defined Contributory Pension Scheme (“CPS”) and establishing the National Pension Commission (the “Commission”) as the regulatory authority.