The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have strongly opposed the Federal
Government’s plan to reduce its stakes in joint venture (JV) oil assets managed
by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The backlash follows President Bola Tinubu’s
directive last month for a reassessment of NNPCL’s 30% management fee
and 30% frontier exploration deductions under the Petroleum Industry Act
(PIA), as part of efforts to improve fiscal discipline and boost government
savings.
At a joint press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, union
leaders Festus Osifo (PENGASSAN President) and Williams Akporeha
(NUPENG President) warned that selling off 30–35% government stakes
in JV assets would hand control of Nigeria’s oil sector to foreign interests,
weaken NNPCL, and endanger the country’s long-term economic security.
“Every oil well belongs to the Nigerian people
collectively, not just the Federal Government. If these stakes are sold, the
federation loses, and NNPCL will be too weak to deliver,” Osifo cautioned.
The unions further alleged that the Ministry of
Finance was attempting to edge out the Ministry of Petroleum from
joint ownership of NNPCL, a move they said would undermine the company’s
national role and scare off investors.
They criticised plans to amend the PIA, which
was enacted barely three years ago after years of struggle, saying such
frequent policy shifts project instability.
“Investors are just beginning to adapt to the PIA.
Amending it again is a dangerous signal,” Akporeha warned.
Both unions vowed to resist any attempts to cut
NNPCL’s equity in JV assets or alter the PIA prematurely. They argued that such
policies would reduce NNPCL’s budget contributions, bankrupt the company, and
worsen Nigeria’s revenue crisis.
“This is a recipe for economic collapse, and we will
resist it,” Osifo declared.
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