The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has alleged the federal government plans to sell off
significant stakes in joint venture (JV) assets managed by the Nigerian
National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Festus Osifo, PENGASSAN’s president, announced the
development in a joint 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.
The PENGASSAN president said the association opposes the
federal government’s 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 said.
“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 emphasised that regardless of whether the idea originated
from the ministry of petroleum, the ministry of finance, NNPC, or even the
presidency, the association rejects it entirely.
“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 explained that all crude oil assets and oil wells in
Nigeria are not only owned by the federal government but to the federation as a
whole, noting that NNPC manages the assets on the federation’s behalf.
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