By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
Oil workers under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have kicked against the Federal Government’s plan to sell its stakes in Joint Venture (JV) oil assets.
The unions also opposed proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), warning that both moves would undermine the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), weaken the naira, and threaten the economy.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, speaking at a joint press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said the oil assets belong to the federation and must not be sold for “quick cash.” He noted that government currently controls 55–60 percent of JV stakes managed by NNPC Ltd. on behalf of Nigerians.
“Selling these assets amounts to mortgaging our future,” Osifo declared, stressing that such action would slash foreign exchange earnings, plunge the nation into deficits, and endanger generations yet unborn.
He also faulted moves to alter the PIA by stripping the Ministry of Petroleum of oversight on NNPC Ltd. and handing control to the Ministry of Finance. “Everywhere in the world, national oil companies operate under petroleum ministries. We will resist any attempt to change this,” he warned.
NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, echoed the concerns, questioning why government would seek to sell assets after subsidy removal had already raised revenues. “Now the little assets the country still has, they also want to sell. This is not in the interest of Nigerians,” he said.
The labour leaders urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene, insisting that government should instead focus on attracting investments to raise crude production to over three million barrels per day.
They maintained that amending the PIA barely two years after its enactment would spook investors and damage confidence in the oil sector.
Akporeha added that weakening NNPC would strip Nigeria of its only national oil company at a time other producing nations were strengthening theirs. “Why should Nigeria strip its own NNPC of that role?” he asked.
On a separate matter, NUPENG confirmed it had received court papers restraining it from picketing the Dangote Refinery.
The National Industrial Court in Abuja, last week, barred the union and allied groups from blocking operations of the refinery or related companies.
Akporeha said the union would respect the order and allow legal processes to run their course. He dismissed allegations that NUPENG collects N50,000 from trucks at depots, saying several organisations operate at the facilities and the claims were untrue.