The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), on Tuesday, rejected alleged plans by the federal government to sell significant stakes in Joint Venture (JV) assets, managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
The two critical unions warned that the move could endanger the country’s economic stability, weaken its oil industry and jeopardise the welfare of workers.
At a joint briefing in Abuja, PENGASSAN President, Comrade Festus Osifo speaking alongside NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, said the proposed sale would not only undermine national revenue but also mortgage the future of coming generations.
The oil workers argued that government’s plan to cut its stakes in JV assets, currently between 55 and 60 percent by as much as 30 to 35 percent for quick cash was short-sighted and dangerous.
The unions recalled past divestments by international oil companies such as ENI, ExxonMobil, and Shell, which saw their Nigerian operations acquired by domestic firms.
They insisted that further sales of government stakes would leave NNPC Ltd weakened and unable to meet critical obligations such as salaries, benefits, and national budget contributions.
Both unions also raised concern over ongoing moves to amend the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), passed in 2021 after decades of debate.
They alleged that the Ministry of Finance was seeking to remove the Ministry of Petroleum from joint ownership of NNPC Ltd, which they described as an aberration and a backdoor attempt to hijack the company.
According to them, the amendments would strip NNPC Ltd of its core national role, undermine investor confidence, and eventually drive the company into bankruptcy.
They said, “Government is wanting to reduce its stake in these assets, principally, they want to sell some huge percentages in these assets. In some places, sell up 35 percent, in some places sell up 30 percent, so that they will have some cash to spend in other areas.
“That is the excuse that they are giving. 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 mooted this idea, whether from the Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Finance, NNPC Ltd, or the Presidency itself, we reject it 100 percent,” the unions said.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene immediately and stop the process.
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