The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has again called on the federal government to divest majority shares in the nation’s state-owned refineries.
National President of PENGASSAN and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, who made the renewed call when he featured as a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television, advised the government to adopt the Nigeria LNG model by selling at least 51 per cent equity to core investors.
He explained that under this arrangement, the government would retain a minority stake while selling a majority shareholding to core investors.
According to Osifo, the union had consistently canvassed partial privatisation of the refineries over the past two decades, insisting that government ownership structure had hindered efficiency and commercial viability.
He emphasised that divesting majority shares to private refiners would depoliticise refinery management, encourage fresh investment and promote profitability.
