The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, has urged the Federal Government to retain majority control in the planned privatisation of the nation’s refineries, recommending the sale of only a 51 per cent stake.
Osifo made the appeal during an interview on Sunday Politics, a programme on Channels Television, emphasizing the importance of maintaining energy security while attracting private investment.
“Why we don’t want the government to sell the refinery 100 per cent to the private sector is because of the issue bordering on energy security,” Osifo explained. “What we have advocated is what I said earlier: the government should sell a 51 per cent stake in NNPC refineries, and that is the direction in which the current management of NNPC is working towards.”
He added that Nigeria’s large population creates a strong market for investors willing to acquire stakes in the refineries. “Yes, there are investors who will surely be willing to buy a stake in the refinery because our population in Nigeria is quite huge. Those refineries, when well-maintained without political pressures and interferences, are going to work,” he said.
Osifo’s comments come amid ongoing discussions on the privatisation and operational efficiency of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, which have historically struggled with underperformance due to maintenance issues, political interference, and inadequate funding. By advocating a partial sale, PENGASSAN aims to balance private sector efficiency with government oversight to ensure that Nigeria’s energy supply remains stable.