Olushola Omogbehin
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have rejected the federal government’s arrangement to cut down its stakes in Joint Venture (JV) oil and gas assets.
These two sisters associations warned that the move could put national revenue in danger, weaken the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), jeopardise the welfare of workers and plunge the economy into a deeper crisis.
At a joint briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, both unions opposed proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which they believe would strip the Ministry of Petroleum of its role in managing NNPC Ltd and hand sole control to the Ministry of Finance.
In particular, Festus Osifo rejected the proposal to cut government stakes in JV assets by as much as 30–35 per cent because Federal Government currently holds between 55 and 60 per cent of such assets through NNPCL.
According to him, apart from having a devastating effect on the economy, the planned sale would deny future generations of critical resources as well as undermining NNPC’s ability to pay salaries, invest in operations and sustain its workforce.
“The government wants to reduce its stake in these assets. In some cases, they are talking of selling up to 35 per cent. But we say no. You cannot mortgage the future of Nigerians for temporary gains.
“But as an association, as PENGASSAN and NUPENG, we say no, no, no to this. You cannot mortgage our future today and tomorrow we will be starving as a country. If we allow this to continue, it has a way of making NNPC become bankrupt in the next few years. There are obligations that must be met, the chief of these obligations is payment of staff salaries and welfare of our members.
“Whoever muted this idea, whether from petroleum, finance, NUPRC, NNPC, or the presidency, we reject it 100 per cent. The government should focus on increasing production, not selling off assets.
“On the PIA, they want to yank off the Ministry of Petroleum from the ownership of NNPC Ltd and hand it solely to the Ministry of Finance. This is an aberration. It is wrong, and we will resist it. President Tinubu should call them to order”, he concluded.
Also supporting Osifo, NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, said there is no justification for selling the country’s oil assets as well as decried the hasty amendments to the PIA, which was passed in 2021.
“The sale of our JV assets at this point is unnecessary. The government told us the subsidy was draining funds and we supported its removal. Today, money is flowing into government coffers. What are they doing with it? Why then sell the little assets that we have left? We say no.
“PIA came into effect barely three years ago. Investors are only just beginning to understand it. How do you start talking about amendments so soon? This sends the wrong signal and creates doubt,” he said.
