Oil workers raise alarm over secrecy in planned asset sales

Unions Reject Sale of Oil and Gas Assets
Criticism is growing over the alleged plan by the federal government to sell part of its shares in Joint Venture (JV) oil and gas assets.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) warned that such a move would weaken the oil is sector, threaten jobs, reduce government revenue, and hand control of the nation’s resources to a few powerful individuals.

A petroleum economics expert also warned that selling government shares in deep-water oil resources could harm Nigeria’s economic independence and revenue stability.

According to insiders, the government is planning to reduce the powers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to manage joint ventures and production sharing contracts.

These powers may be transferred to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which critics say would create conflict since NUPRC would then be both a regulator and a player in the sector.

The unions pointed out that important exploration projects in places like Benue Trough, Anambra Basin, Sokoto Basin, and others have already stalled because of lack of funding.

They questioned how the government has been using money saved from fuel subsidy removal.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also alleged that the government plans to cut its stakes in JVs like RAEC, Oando, and Seplat Energy from controlling levels of 55–65% down to as low as 25–35%.

He warned that such actions could compromise Nigeria’s sovereignty and benefit only a few insiders and foreign interests.

When contacted, government officials, including presidential aides and the NNPCL, did not provide comments.

At a joint press conference in Abuja, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo and NUPENG President Williams Akporeha called the plan “short-sighted and dangerous.

” They warned that it could bankrupt NNPCL, reduce salaries and pensions, and damage investor confidence. They urged President Bola Tinubu to stop the move.

The unions reminded Nigerians of past sales of oil company shares, such as Oando’s purchase of ENI’s assets and Seplat’s acquisition of ExxonMobil’s stakes.

They argued that further sales would strip the country of control over its most valuable industry.

They also opposed any plan to amend the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), saying it would strip NNPCL of its key role and hand too much power to regulators. According to them, this would scare away investors and send negative signals about Nigeria’s policy stability.

A civil group, Committee of Patriotic Forces, also condemned the alleged plan. They warned that selling off these assets would reduce government revenue, weaken energy security, cost jobs, and hand over Nigeria’s most strategic resources to a few individuals.

They stressed that once sold, such assets would be very difficult to recover.
Professor Wumi Iledare, a petroleum economist, added that while selling shares could give the government some cash relief, it must be done transparently and used for debt reduction or infrastructure.

He warned that changing the PIA so soon after its passage would create instability and benefit only a few interests.