The Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Mobil Producing Nigeria (NNPC/MPN) Joint Venture has said it has disbursed over N36 billion to its EMOIMEE Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) in Akwa Ibom State.
The Trust which was incorporated on July 5, 2023 and inaugurated on July 18, 2024 and has been in operation for about one year and four months.
It held its maiden Annual General Meeting, as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 during the week.
The Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman, Helen Esuene who confirmed this during the AGM noted that the Settlor, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, operator of the NNPC/MPN Joint Venture, has so far remitted its 2021 and 2022 funding, totaling over N36 billion.
As stipulated by the PIA, 20% of the fund in the Collection Account was disbursed into the Reserved Account, 5% into the Administrative Account, and 75% into the Project Account.
While part of project fund is yet unspent (infrastructure project contracting ongoing), some of the executed/ongoing programmes and projects across the seven host communities, according to the BOT Chairman, included: 1,572 tertiary institution scholarships/bursaries and 143 secondary school scholarships.
Read also: Mobil unveils host community trusts in A/Ibom
Others included ICT trainings (100 beneficiaries), Skill Acquisition Programmes (150 beneficiaries), 396 buses/tricycles distributed as empowerment, solar-powered boreholes, solar-powered streetlights, medical outreaches, provision of drugs and medical supplies to hospitals, renovation of health centres, renovation of schools, procurement and distribution of fishing boats and construction of fish processing facilities, etc.
Representative of the Joint Venture Mr. Nigel Cookey-Gam, lauded the Trust and sued for the continuous deployment of the funds for the development of the communities by the stakeholders.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) Community Relations Manager, Kingsley expressed delight of the 137 incorporated Trusts in Nigeria at the moment, the NNPC/MPN JV EMOIMEE HCDT was foremost and one of the earliest to hold an AGM.
Other speakers during the interactive session included Nsidibe Akata on behalf of State House of Assembly members; Hon. Kufre Umoren on behalf of LGA Chairmen; E. C. D. Abia on behalf of Paramount Rulers; Emmanuel Ekuwem, immediate past Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government; Ambassador Assam Assam, Akpan Micah Umoh, Coordinator of the Trust’s Advisory Committee; Linus Okon, Head of the Trust’s Management Committee, amongst others.
Highpoint of the AGM was the donation of land to the Trust for building of its permanent headquarters, in lieu of its current rented facility. The donation was made public by the President of Ekid Peoples Union (EPU), Dr. Samuel Udonsak.
The seven LGAs that make up the HCDT are Eastern Obolo, Mbo, Onna, Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, Eket and Esit Eket, from where the name EMOIMEE is derived from and are part of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited’s (MPN) eight host communities in Akwa Ibom State, the other being Ibeno LGA, for which the JV has a stand-alone Trust in the state.
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