By Francis Sadhere, Warri
The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has called on oil companies operating in petroleum host communities to allocate at least 10 per cent of annual Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) development project budgets to interventions targeting persons with disabilities.
The organisation also urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to strengthen and enforce disability-inclusive guidelines to ensure the representation and participation of persons with disabilities in HCDT governance and development programmes.
Coordinator of CCD, Delta Chapter, Comrade Ochuko Okpobrisi, made the demands on Wednesday during an advocacy visit by persons with disabilities to Comrade Pender Agwarive, BOT Chairman of the PIA Uherevie Development Trust, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State.
Okpobrisi said the demands were contained in a charter developed under CCD’s Ending Barriers Against Niger Deltans with Disabilities (EBAND) project to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the implementation of Chapter Three of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.
He said the charter called for representation of persons with disabilities on HCDT Boards of Trustees, Management Committees and Host Communities Advisory Committees, noting that their exclusion from decision-making could deny them access to development opportunities and resources.
Okpobrisi identified inaccessible meeting venues and information, discriminatory attitudes, inadequate consultation, poor representation and insufficient disability-specific data as major barriers to inclusion in petroleum host communities.
He urged the NUPRC to ensure that community needs assessments incorporate the priorities of persons with disabilities and that HCDT monitoring frameworks track their representation, participation, project accessibility and benefits received.
The CCD coordinator also called on oil companies to ensure that HCDT-funded projects comply with accessibility standards and universal design principles, while prioritising interventions in assistive technology, healthcare, inclusive education, vocational training, rehabilitation and economic empowerment.
He urged state governments, lawmakers and traditional rulers to strengthen disability-inclusive policies, oversight and community nomination processes, adding that persons with disabilities should be actively involved in consultations and development planning.
Okpobrisi further called on media organisations, civil society groups and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to intensify advocacy, monitor HCDT projects and promote accessible information, reasonable accommodation and the elimination of physical, communication and attitudinal barriers.
He said the charter emerged from a three-day participatory workshop organised by CCD in Umuahia, Abia State, from April 23 to 25, 2025, involving disability stakeholders, government agencies, petroleum industry representatives, HCDTs, civil society organisations and the media.
According to him, the charter is anchored on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, the Constitution, the PIA, 2021, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations, 2022.
Okpobrisi said the initiative, supported by the Ford Foundation, seeks to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognised not merely as beneficiaries of community development but as rights holders and active participants in decisions affecting their communities.
Responding, the Board of Trustees Chairman of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) Uherevie Host Development Trust in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, Comrade Pender Agwarive, pledged to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the trust’s governance, projects and empowerment programmes.
Agwarive stressed that excluding persons with disabilities from community development structures would be inhuman and contrary to inclusive development. He said the trust would work to involve them in project implementation, committee formation, capacity-building programmes and other initiatives.
The BOT chairman acknowledged that their needs were not adequately captured in the trust’s initial framework but noted that relevant PIA regulations supported their inclusion in HCDT governance structures.
He urged persons with disabilities to engage their communities and seek the nomination of qualified representatives during the next round of appointments, expected after the current tenure expires in about two years.
“It is better when you are inside than to be outside. When you are inside, someone will be speaking your mind, rather than when you are speaking from outside,” he said.
Agwarive disclosed that the trust was exploring ways to improve the representation of women and persons with disabilities on its committees. He also said it was considering opportunities for persons with disabilities in contracting and other economic activities linked to its projects.
He promised that the trust would consider financial assistance and other support for persons with disabilities in future budgets, noting that the current budget had been approved before the advocacy visit.
He urged disability representatives to work with community leaders to identify relevant opportunities and ensure that eligible persons benefited from capacity-building and empowerment programmes.
Agwarive reiterated that persons with disabilities had important roles to play in society and deserved equal access to opportunities provided by government agencies, host communities and other institutions.
At the end of the visit, Okpobrisi handed a copy of the charter to Agwarive.
Those who accompanied Okpobrisi to the advocacy visit included Mr Onyema Stephen, Secretary; Miss Oviriara Jennifer; Miss Aboleke Glovia; Miss Elohor Ogwori; and Winfred Agharite.
The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has called on oil companies operating in petroleum host communities to allocate at least 10 per cent of annual Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) development project budgets to interventions targeting persons with disabilities.
The organisation also urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to strengthen and enforce disability-inclusive guidelines to ensure the representation and participation of persons with disabilities in HCDT governance and development programmes.
Coordinator of CCD, Delta Chapter, Comrade Ochuko Okpobrisi, made the demands on Wednesday during an advocacy visit by persons with disabilities to Comrade Pender Agwarive, BOT Chairman of the PIA Uherevie Development Trust, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State.
Okpobrisi said the demands were contained in a charter developed under CCD’s Ending Barriers Against Niger Deltans with Disabilities (EBAND) project to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the implementation of Chapter Three of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.
He said the charter called for representation of persons with disabilities on HCDT Boards of Trustees, Management Committees and Host Communities Advisory Committees, noting that their exclusion from decision-making could deny them access to development opportunities and resources.
Okpobrisi identified inaccessible meeting venues and information, discriminatory attitudes, inadequate consultation, poor representation and insufficient disability-specific data as major barriers to inclusion in petroleum host communities.
He urged the NUPRC to ensure that community needs assessments incorporate the priorities of persons with disabilities and that HCDT monitoring frameworks track their representation, participation, project accessibility and benefits received.
The CCD coordinator also called on oil companies to ensure that HCDT-funded projects comply with accessibility standards and universal design principles, while prioritising interventions in assistive technology, healthcare, inclusive education, vocational training, rehabilitation and economic empowerment.
He urged state governments, lawmakers and traditional rulers to strengthen disability-inclusive policies, oversight and community nomination processes, adding that persons with disabilities should be actively involved in consultations and development planning.
Okpobrisi further called on media organisations, civil society groups and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to intensify advocacy, monitor HCDT projects and promote accessible information, reasonable accommodation and the elimination of physical, communication and attitudinal barriers.
He said the charter emerged from a three-day participatory workshop organised by CCD in Umuahia, Abia State, from April 23 to 25, 2025, involving disability stakeholders, government agencies, petroleum industry representatives, HCDTs, civil society organisations and the media.
According to him, the charter is anchored on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, the Constitution, the PIA, 2021, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations, 2022.
Okpobrisi said the initiative, supported by the Ford Foundation, seeks to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognised not merely as beneficiaries of community development but as rights holders and active participants in decisions affecting their communities.
Responding, the Board of Trustees Chairman of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) Uherevie Host Development Trust in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, Comrade Pender Agwarive, pledged to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the trust’s governance, projects and empowerment programmes.
Agwarive stressed that excluding persons with disabilities from community development structures would be inhuman and contrary to inclusive development. He said the trust would work to involve them in project implementation, committee formation, capacity-building programmes and other initiatives.
The BOT chairman acknowledged that their needs were not adequately captured in the trust’s initial framework but noted that relevant PIA regulations supported their inclusion in HCDT governance structures.
He urged persons with disabilities to engage their communities and seek the nomination of qualified representatives during the next round of appointments, expected after the current tenure expires in about two years.
“It is better when you are inside than to be outside. When you are inside, someone will be speaking your mind, rather than when you are speaking from outside,” he said.
Agwarive disclosed that the trust was exploring ways to improve the representation of women and persons with disabilities on its committees. He also said it was considering opportunities for persons with disabilities in contracting and other economic activities linked to its projects.
He promised that the trust would consider financial assistance and other support for persons with disabilities in future budgets, noting that the current budget had been approved before the advocacy visit.
He urged disability representatives to work with community leaders to identify relevant opportunities and ensure that eligible persons benefited from capacity-building and empowerment programmes.
Agwarive reiterated that persons with disabilities had important roles to play in society and deserved equal access to opportunities provided by government agencies, host communities and other institutions.
At the end of the visit, Okpobrisi handed a copy of the charter to Agwarive.
Those who accompanied Okpobrisi to the advocacy visit included Mr Onyema Stephen, Secretary; Miss Oviriara Jennifer; Miss Aboleke Glovia; Miss Elohor Ogwori; and Winfred Agharite.
