Nigeria’s oil sector faces fresh turmoil as two major unions reject the federal government’s proposal to sell key assets. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) voiced strong opposition during a joint briefing on September 23, 2025.
The unions target plans to divest 30-35% of the government’s 55-60% stakes in joint venture assets run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). With the aim of Government Officials being to raise quick funds amid economic pressures.
PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo slammed the idea as shortsighted. “You cannot mortgage the future of Nigerians for temporary gains,” he said. He warned that such sales would bankrupt NNPCL, disrupt worker salaries, and slash national revenues.
Osifo stressed that these assets belong to all Nigerians, not just the federal government. “If these stakes are sold, the federation loses, and the national oil company will be too weak to deliver,” he added. The move, he argued, risks broader economic instability and budget shortfalls.
NUPENG President Williams Akporeha echoed these fears, criticizing proposed tweaks to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), enacted just three years ago on August 16, 2021. “Investors are just beginning to adapt to it. Now, the government wants to amend it again? That is a dangerous signal,” Akporeha stated.
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The unions also accused the Ministry of Finance of a “backdoor hijack” by sidelining the Ministry of Petroleum in NNPCL ownership. They link the push to President Bola Tinubu’s August 2025 directive to review NNPCL’s 30% management fees and frontier exploration deductions for fiscal savings.
Akporeha urged protecting the national oil firm like other producing nations do. “When laws are inconsistent, they scare away investment,” he noted.
The groups demand Tinubu halt the plan and curb officials, including the Finance Minister and NNPCL’s board chair. They threaten resistance to avert crisis. Past sales by firms like Shell and ExxonMobil to local players like Oando highlight ongoing sector shifts.
With oil vital to Nigeria’s economy, the standoff could spark unrest and deter investors.
