A disability rights advocate, Gloria Nwafor, has called for the inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the utilization of the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) established under Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Nwafor, a fellow of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development’s Intersectional Leadership Incubator (ILI) 2025, made the appeal during a capacity-building workshop for PWDs themed “Understanding the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Host Communities, and the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities.”
She explained that the PIA, signed into law in 2021, regulates Nigeria’s oil and gas sector to ensure fairness, transparency, and community development.
“Central to this is the Host Communities Development Trust, which mandates oil companies to contribute three percent of their annual operating expenses to fund projects in host communities.”
Trust fund for infrastructural development
According to her, the Trust Fund is to support roads, schools, healthcare, water supply, electricity, skills training, job creation, youth and women empowerment, and environmental protection.
Nwafor who is also the Executive Director of the Care for the Physically Challenged and Destitute Foundation (CAPCADF), regretted that PWDs are often excluded from such initiatives, despite their right to participate fully in community development.
“Inclusion means being part of decision-making, having access to jobs, education, healthcare and training, as well as infrastructure that accommodates everyone, such as ramps and accessible toilets,” she said.
“In the spirit of ‘Nothing about us without us,’ communities should involve PWDs in every stage of planning and implementation of Host Communities’ PIA Trust Fund activities and other natural resources governance.”
A plea to PWDs
She urged PWDs to organize themselves, demand inclusion from community leaders and oil companies, and actively monitor projects to ensure transparency and accessibility.
“Get informed about the PIA and your rights. Join or form a group as a united voice is stronger. Be active in project monitoring and advocate for accessible community projects,” she advised.
Beyond the oil and gas sector, Nwafor also advocated the inclusion of PWDs in governance of other natural resources such as mining, forestry, water resources, and environmental and climate action plans.
“The Petroleum Industry Act gives host communities the opportunity to grow, and persons with disabilities must be part of that growth,” she emphasized.
At the end of the workshop, participants developed a Disability Inclusion Charter and mapped out stakeholders for future engagement, signaling a new step in the push for equal participation of PWDs in Nigeria’s resource governance.
