From dilapidated schools and “death trap” hospitals to modern classrooms, health centres, and job-creating enterprises, oil-bearing communities in Rivers State are witnessing a new dawn of transformation. For decades, places like Ogbogu and Akabuka were defined by neglect despite contributing the bulk of Nigeria’s export earnings. Pupils studied under leaking roofs, residents travelled long distances for medical care, and unemployment forced many youths into despair. Today, however, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), through the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is rewriting that story. Backed by settlors like TotalEnergies, the Obagi HCDT has delivered modern schools, upgraded hospitals, gas plants, and water factories, projects that have restored hope and dignity to communities once left in ruins. Uzoma Mba reports
Benjamin Goodness is from Ogbogu town and attends Comprehensive Secondary School Ogbogu, Ogba, EgbemaNdoni Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State. She is in her teens, but despite being born in an oil-rich community, the teenager has not derived the benefits of being born in an area that accounts for about 90 percent of Nigeria’s export earnings.
Her education has been frustrating, particularly having to learn in a dilapidated school with classrooms exposed to rain and scorching sun.
The 15-year-old has never experienced a Universal Basic Education (UBE) standard classroom. Goodness has never been exposed to a well-furnished school with digital facilities.
“It was not easy for us to learn under that harsh environment. Teachers used chalk, some of us had to sit on the floor because the chairs were bad or not even available, and the bad condition of the classrooms exposed us to danger,” Goodness lamented.
This condition affected her mental health and her performance in class. At some point, she considered leaving her community school for Port Harcourt.
Ishmael Precious, a student of Comprehensive Secondary School Ogbogu, had a similar experience. The teenager has never been exposed to ICT facilities in his school or even a library.
Precious decried, “The school was very tattered. It was not suitable for humans at all.”
Pupils in their kindergarten suffered a similar fate. The Community Primary School at Akabuka South had hundreds of children enrolled, but they were subjected to harsh learning conditions. Some of them were forced to learn in classrooms with open roofs and no seats.
The proprietor, Ade Fatimo Osademe, described the plight of her pupils as “hell,” adding, “Our children learn under leaking roofs.”
“When I was first transferred to this school, I felt discouraged. People asked me how I would cope. I felt for the children because even as an adult, it was not easy. They were subjected to the worst learning condition,” she said.
Children No Longer Learn Under Leaking Roofs
The story has changed with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)-backed implementation of OML 58 Obagi Host Community Development Trust (HCDT), operated by TotalEnergies.
Obagi HCDT was established under the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to support the development needs of the communities. Obagi HCDT is specially grouped into Egi Cluster, Idu-Ama Cluster, Ekpeye Cluster, and RumuekpeCluster.
With the Obagi HCDT, the dilapidated school structure has been demolished and replaced with a two-story building with classroom blocks containing 18 fully furnished standard classrooms of 56 square metres each, in line with UBE standards, at Ogbogu Community.
Goodness said she can now boast of quality education with the intervention of Obagi HCDT.
“Most of us have never experienced something like this. Now, we have access to good education and things have changed. No one wants to leave. Personally, my education is no longer under threat,” Goodness said with excitement.
Now, the Community Primary School, Akabuka South, has taken a new shape. The Obagi HCDT has renovated the school and procured writing desks and other modern facilities. The renovation was also extended to Community Primary School at Akabuka North.
“This seems like a miracle to us, especially those who saw the condition of the school. We are happy for the PIA and the NUPRC that ensured oil companies comply with the HCDT,” the proprietress said.
From Death Trap Hospitals to Modern Healthcare
Healthcare was another challenge that plagued the communities in Obagi. The poor system left villagers with no choice but to travel 77.2 kilometers to Port Harcourt for proper medical attention. Ogbogu Community had one medical facility, the Cottage Hospital, but villagers described it as a “death trap.”
Now, the hospital has been remodeled into a 20-bed facility with modern medical equipment. It boasts a fully equipped diagnostic centre, functional doctors’ and nurses’ quarters, a 60KVA generator, and an ambulance.
A middle-aged patient at the remodelled hospital, who does not want to be named, said her condition was critical and she would have been forced to seek care in Port Harcourt without the intervention.
“Most of us were scared to be treated in the old Cottage Hospital because it was dilapidated and lacked facilities. You won’t even get a bed space. It was that bad. Today, we even have X-ray machines,” she added.
Gas Projects, Pure Water Plant Create Jobs in Oil Communities
At Erema Community, the villagers lacked clean cooking fuel. In fact, they burned firewood, which they traveled kilometersto buy. Most of the trees in the area were used for firewood, a growing environmental threat, according to one of the community leaders.
Just this September, Obagi HCDT intervened based on their need for a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant. EremaCommunity now has an 8.5MT gas skid plant with a solar-powered borehole to cool the facility. The woman leader of Erema Community said the gas plant would transform their lives.
“The gas plant will meet our energy needs. We will no longer travel a distance to buy gas. This will also provide jobs for our youth.”
Unemployment was another long-standing challenge in Amah Community, Egbema Ndoni LGA.
In response, Obagi HCDT addressed the decade-old issue by setting up a bottling company factory — Amah Bottling Water Factory. The facility was carefully designed with a semi-automated production line and a capacity of 1,500 bottles per hour.
It also has a PET bottling moulding machine with a production capacity of 800 bottles per hour. The factory includes a sachet water production line with a capacity of 2,000 sachets per hour. These infrastructure projects were delivered within three to six months and handed over to the communities.
These life-changing interventions are a testament to how effective implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust under the PIA can impact the lives of oil-producing communities that have been neglected for decades.
NUPRC Delivering on its HCDT Mandate
The implementation of the HCDT provisions under Sections 232 and 235 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 stands as a testament to Engr. Gbenga Komolafe-led NUPRC’scommitment to delivering on its mandate.
The Commission Chief Executive, Engr. Komolafe, has on several platforms reiterated the Commission’s commitment to fully implementing the HCDT. Obagi HCDT is just one out of 150 incorporated trusts by 102 settlors.
These Trusts have remitted N111.52bn in naira, while dollar contributions stand at over $157.3m as of July 2025. This translates to a combined remittance of N351.01bn at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate of N1535.08 per dollar. The 150 trusts approved by the NUPRC are expected to play critical roles in addressing the development needs of oil-producing communities.
In delivering this statutory mandate, the NUPRC took a bold step to issue an implementation template aligned with the operational framework set out by the PIA. This includes timelines for application approval, preliminary requirements for incorporating a trust, application processes with the Corporate Affairs Commission, and post-incorporation obligations.
The NUPRC took a further step in 2024 by inaugurating the Host Community Development and Administration Trust Board of Trustees (BOT) Forum. This became imperative, not only as a one-stop shop for resolving host communities’ issues but also as a vehicle for the smooth administration of the host community provisions of the PIA, 2021.
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