The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has renewed its call for the Federal Government to divest majority shares in the nation’s state-owned refineries.
The union is urging authorities to adopt the Nigeria LNG Limited model by selling at least 51 per cent equity to core investors while retaining a minority stake.
The National President of PENGASSAN and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, made the recommendation on Sunday during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television.
Osifo said the union had consistently advocated partial privatisation of the refineries for over two decades. He argued that the current government ownership structure has hindered efficiency and commercial viability.
He explained that under the NLNG model, the government would take a minority stake and sell a minimum of 51 per cent equity to credible investors. According to him, these investors must be experienced refiners, not portfolio investors or political associates.
“We have always advocated in PENGASSAN in the last 20 years that the government should bring about the NLNG model in the refinery,” Osifo said. “At least, the government should sell a minimum of 51 per cent to investors, and these investors should be refiners.”
He noted that the NLNG structure has proven effective. A consortium of international oil companies holds 51 per cent in NLNG, while the government retains a minority share.
Osifo added that majority private ownership would depoliticise refinery management, attract fresh investment, and promote profitability. He stressed that business decisions would no longer be subjected to political influence.
While supporting ongoing efforts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to attract investors, he insisted that the government should not divest 100 per cent of its shares.
According to him, retaining a minority stake is necessary to safeguard national energy security.
“Give it to private investors, let them invest and manage the refineries. The advantage is that it will not be politicised. But they should not sell it 100 per cent because of energy security,” he said.
Osifo’s comments come amid renewed debate over the future of Nigeria’s moribund state-owned refineries and broader reforms in the oil and gas sector following the commercialisation of NNPCL.
His remarks also followed comments by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, who recently praised the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a symbol of technological audacity and national pride.
Ojulari made the statement during a visit to the 650,000 barrels-per-day facility alongside members of the NNPCL board and executive management team. The visit marked the first official tour of the refinery by the senior leadership of the state oil company. NNPCL currently holds a seven per cent equity stake in the privately owned refinery.
The renewed call by PENGASSAN signals organised labour’s conditional support for majority private participation in Nigeria’s refining sector. However, the union maintains that government must retain a minority stake to protect energy security and ensure stability in the sector.
