The Federal Government, alongside the NNPC Limited/FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company (FIRST E&P) Joint Venture (JV), has called for greater collaboration among stakeholders in oil-producing communities to ensure sustainable development.
This appeal was made by Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, the Managing Director of FIRST E&P, and Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), during the KEFFESO Stakeholders Forum held on Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
In alignment with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, NNPC/FIRST E&P established the KEFFESO Host Communities Development Trust (KHCDT) in 2023. The trust organized the forum with the theme, ‘Envisioning Sustainable Community Development in Niger Delta Host Communities: Identifying Challenges and Actualising the PIA Paradigm Shift’. The event provided a platform for dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, including representatives from oil and gas regulatory agencies, over 100 Host Community Trusts, settlors, and the private sector.
During his keynote address, Lokpobiri commended NNPC/FIRST E&P for maintaining a strategic partnership with KHCDT and emphasized the importance of unity among the leadership of host communities.
Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, represented by John Alamu, the General Manager of Engineering and Capital Projects at FIRST E&P, highlighted the company’s commitment to the long-term socio-economic development of host communities. He acknowledged the significant progress made by the Trust in areas such as health, education, infrastructure, water, capacity building, and local content development.
Seyi Omotowa, the Chief Upstream Investment Officer, represented by Edith Lawson, Deputy Manager of External Relations, NUIMS, explained that the forum provides an opportunity to develop strategies for sustainable development, ensuring the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act are equitably shared. Omotowa also noted that the PIA represents a major policy shift, promoting more balanced resource management and community development.
HRH Moses Theophilus, Chairman of KHCDT and the Moko-ama Sangana Kingdom, also spoke, emphasizing that the PIA could bring transformative change, ensuring that the benefits of oil and gas activities reach host communities.
He expressed gratitude to the NNPC/FIRST E&P JV for their support in establishing KHCDT and for their ongoing commitment to the development of KEFFESO communities.
