My people, wetin dey happen for oil sector no be small matter o! PENGASSAN, wey be Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, don yarn again, dis time dem don talk say make Federal Government sell majority shares for our state-owned refineries. Dem dey push make we copy the Nigeria LNG model wey don work well for oil sector.
Festus Osifo, wey be the National President of PENGASSAN, don dey shout say make government sell at least 51% stake to core investors wey sabi how to refine gist well. E don talk plenty for Channels Television during show wey dem call Politics Today. According to am, government no sabi handle dis refinery matter well for over 20 years; wetin dem dey do no dey fit promote efficiency and business viability.
“We don dey talk am say make dem no just give shares to political friends or portfolio investors. Make dem sell the majority stake to people wey be real refiners,” na wetin Osifo yan be dat. Him talk say NLNG model don show say this kind arrangement fit work, because we don see wetin ENI, Total Energy and Shell don achieve with their 51% shares. Na dem dey drive the process, while government still dey hold small minority stake.
PENGASSAN dey fear say if government no divest, e go still dey politicise the refinery management, and that go lead to wahala wey go affect investment and profitability. Osifo still believe say the current NNPCL leadership dey move in correct direction by trying to bring investors but make dem no sell everything make dem keep at least 49% to ensure say energy security dey intact.
As e be now, the four state-owned refineries dey suffer, dem no dey produce anything wey go show say dem fit provide petrol for naija. Dem don do repairs several times, but nothing don change, na wetin cause heavy dependency on imported fuel. Now, PENGASSAN don show say dem dey ready to support any move wey go help Nigeria produce wetin we dey use, as long as government go still get piece of the pie to avoid political wahala wey fit come up.
Na for the backdrop of this movement, Bayo Ojulari, the NNPC boss, don praise Dangote Petroleum Refinery wey dey produce 650,000 barrels per day. Him talk say na symbol of our national progress. As NNPC get just 7% stake for that refinery, e clear say our state-owned refineries gats make dem work hard to revive their game.
PENGASSAN waka come with this message wey show say dem dey ready to ginger the government to make moves wey go free our refineries from the hold of politics. The call for partial privatisation don show say dem sabi wetin dey for ground; dem no wan see political palava for top of business decisions wey go bring profit.
For the end, Osifo talk say, “If we fit allow private investors to come in, dem go fit change the story of our refineries and make am dey yield profit. Wetin we dey talk no be to hand over everything, but na to ensure say we all benefit.” Na so e be for dis Naija oil market.
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