NUPENG, PENGASSAN reject FG’s plan to sell JV assets

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have rejected alleged plans by the federal government to sell part of its stakes in Joint Venture (JV) oil and gas assets managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).

At a joint press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, PENGASSAN President, Comrade Festus Osifo, and NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, warned that the move would weaken the oil industry, erode national revenue, and threaten workers’ welfare.

They said the government was considering cutting its current 55–60 percent holdings in some JV assets by as much as 30–35 percent for quick cash, a decision they described as “short-sighted and dangerous.”

The unions recalled previous divestments by international oil companies such as ENI, ExxonMobil, and Shell, which transferred their Nigerian operations to domestic firms, and cautioned that further sales could leave NNPC Ltd too weak to meet critical obligations, including salaries, benefits, and contributions to the national budget.

They also voiced strong opposition to ongoing moves to amend the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), alleging that the Ministry of Finance was attempting to remove the Ministry of Petroleum from joint ownership of NNPC Ltd.

Such changes, they warned, would undermine investor confidence, strip the company of its core national role, and risk pushing it toward bankruptcy.

“Government is planning to sell huge percentages of its stake in these assets — up to 35 percent in some cases — just to raise cash. We say no to this.

“You cannot mortgage our future today and leave the country starving tomorrow,” the unions declared.

They called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene immediately and halt the process.