The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) has collaborated with the Ford Foundation to convene regulators, Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs), oil and gas companies, and civil society organisations. The meeting, known as the Bridges Project HCDT Impact Summit, aimed to agree on practical steps for sustaining reforms in host-community governance and advancing implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). The summit was held in Port Harcourt and had the theme, “From Evidence to Sustainability: Consolidating HCDT Gains and Advancing Effective PIA Implementation.”
The summit reviewed evidence from the project, identified persistent institutional challenges, and defined responsibilities for carrying successful practices forward after the project closes. Participants examined findings from outcome harvesting, the HCDT Impact Evidence Report, case studies, and other project knowledge products. They also worked through a Sustainability Clinic on governance, performance tracking, peer learning, stakeholder coordination, and capacity strengthening. The goal was to ensure that gains made by HCDTs translate into stronger institutions, better community participation, and more accountable development.
PIND’s Programs Director, Dr. Effiong Essien, spoke at the summit, emphasizing that the true measure of the Bridges Project would be whether its gains endure beyond the project cycle. He stressed that sustainability now depends on stakeholders taking ownership of the tools, relationships, and practices built, while committing the resources and leadership required to keep them working. Essien highlighted that through awareness-raising, capacity strengthening, and Multi-Stakeholder Platforms, the Bridges Project has supported HCDT operationalisation, participatory planning, improved governance practices, and stronger collaboration among communities, regulators, settlers, and civil society actors.
Selected HCDTs presented evidence-based accounts of changes achieved at the community level and the challenges that remain. The Chairman of Emuoha HCDT, Mr. Smart Okpara, reflected on the community-level experience, stating that the project had strengthened the Trust’s ability to plan, engage stakeholders, and account for results. He noted that the project had given them practical tools to improve their governance, involve their communities in decision-making, and track the results of their development investments.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), settlors, and civil society organisations also shared lessons and priorities for improving PIA implementation. Deputy Director, representing NUPRC, Mr. Kingsley Ehiaguina, spoke on the regulatory implications, stating that the summit’s evidence and lessons could strengthen HCDT performance and compliance. He emphasized that effective implementation of the PIA requires HCDTs that are transparent, accountable, and responsive to their host communities.
The engagement produced a Sustainability Framework assigning proposed responsibilities for continued governance strengthening, monitoring and evaluation, peer learning, knowledge management, capacity development, and stakeholder coordination. The framework aims to ensure that the progress made by HCDTs continues beyond the project cycle. The stakeholders present at the summit agreed to work together to implement the framework and sustain the reforms in host-community governance.
The PIND’s Bridges Project has made significant progress in supporting HCDT operationalisation and improving governance practices. The project has also facilitated stronger collaboration among communities, regulators, settlers, and civil society actors. The Sustainability Framework developed at the summit will guide the continued implementation of the project’s gains, ensuring that the progress made endures beyond the project cycle.
Key points
- PIND convenes stakeholders to sustain reforms in host-community governance and advance implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.
- The summit produced a Sustainability Framework assigning proposed responsibilities for continued governance strengthening, monitoring and evaluation.
- The project has supported HCDT operationalisation, participatory planning, improved governance practices, and stronger collaboration among communities, regulators, settlers, and civil society actors.
