Monday Iyeshim, Glory Ichenwo

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, oil, Niger Delta, host communities, sociology of law

Abstract

This paper examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) and oil and gas
exploration and exploitation activities in Niger Delta. It explores the legal
regimes of oil and gas in Nigeria using the lens of sociology of law. The
tale started with the British Mineral Act of 1914, Petroleum Regulation Act
of 1967, the Oil in Navigable Waters Act of 1968, the Terminal Dues Act
of 1969 and the Associated Gas Re – injection Act of 1979, which gave oil
companies voluntary and discretionary powers to initiate projects in the
host communities as well as obey the regulations guiding operations in the
industry. These laws have complicated the development of Nigeria’s Niger
Delta region over the years. In addition, there are superior laws embedded in the 1999 Constitution, the Land Use Act of 1978, the Minerals and Mining Act of 1999 which support the legal transfer of land from its owner to the Federal Government. The obvious implication of these laws is that oil companies in the Niger Delta’s region have willfully neglected initiating CSR projects in their host communities, citing the payment of royalties and tax to the Federal Government. In this light, oil bearing communities also have lost the legal rights to demand for compensation from oil companies. This consequently has resulted in environmental degradation, poverty, kidnapping, and arm struggle in the Niger Delta region. Findings of the study confirmed that the petroleum industry act (PIA) was passed into law to achieve accelerated development in the oil producing region of Nigeria as the Act mandates oil companies to earmark three percent of their profit after earnings for their social corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study concludes that existing legal frameworks do not compel oil companies to deliver in specific quality and quantity of infrastructure in
their host communities and this has led to a fuse between the state and oil
companies where oil companies refuse to undertake CSR in their host communities.

Author Biography

Monday Iyeshim, Glory Ichenwo

Department of Sociology, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Email: [email protected]

View PDF