The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has accused the federal government of planning to sell substantial portions of its joint venture (JV) assets currently managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
PENGASSAN president, Festus Osifo, disclosed this during a joint press briefing with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
“The 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,” he said.
According to him, the association firmly rejects the proposed sale.
“But as an association, as PENGASSAN and NUPENG, we say no to this. You cannot mortgage our future today and tomorrow we will be starving as a country,” Osifo stressed.
“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.”
He insisted that regardless of whether the idea came from the petroleum ministry, the finance ministry, NNPC, or even the presidency, the unions would not accept it.
“As you could recall a while ago, there were some divestments that took place in some of these JVs. If you could remember very well, in the ENI, Nigeria Agip Oil Company, it was bought over by Oando Energy and Natural Resources. And also, Seplat bought over the JV components of ExxonMobil,” Osifo said.
“Today, there is a plan moved by government to reduce their stake in these JV operations. Currently, government holds between 55 percent to 60 percent of the JV assets in these companies.
“That is the stake of government today. And this stake of government today is being managed by NNPC Limited. So, they manage this JV on behalf of the federation.”
Osifo further explained that crude oil assets and oil wells in Nigeria belong not only to the federal government but to the federation as a whole, with NNPC serving as the manager of these assets on behalf of the federation.