The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has rejected the Executive Order signed by President Bola Tinubu that directs all oil and gas revenues to be remitted directly into the Federation Account.
The group warned that the directive threatens thousands of jobs and could destabilise the nation’s oil sector.
Addressing journalists in Lagos on Thursday, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo described the order as a direct attack on the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), legislation that was designed to reform and stabilise Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He cautioned that its implementation without thorough stakeholder consultation could imperil the sector’s growth and investor confidence.
Osifo argued that the Executive Order could not override the provisions of an existing law like the PIA, emphasising that such a step sends a troubling message to both domestic and international investors about the rule of law and regulatory certainty in Nigeria’s hydrocarbon industry.
He called the move an “aberration” that should never have happened, stressing that it undermines long-established legal frameworks.
The order, signed on February 13 and publicly announced by the Presidency, mandates the direct payment of royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas and other upstream revenues into the Federation Account, effectively ending the ability of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to retain 30 per cent of profit oil and profit gas as management and frontier exploration fees under the PIA.
Osifo warned that if the executive directive remains in place as written, about 4,000 PENGASSAN members’ jobs could be at risk, since reduced revenue inflows may undermine NNPCL’s ability to meet its financial obligations, including salaries and operational costs.
He said the union was never consulted before the order was issued and noted that it had earlier been informed of a proposed executive bill to amend aspects of the PIA — a process in which PENGASSAN expected to participate, but was instead presented with an executive instrument that bypassed legislative scrutiny.
PENGASSAN also expressed broader economic concerns about the order, warning that discouraging investment in a capital-intensive industry like oil and gas could lead to reduced production, lower foreign-exchange earnings, and negative effects on Nigeria’s exchange rate and purchasing power for ordinary citizens.
The union’s position sets the stage for growing pressure on the federal government to revisit or rescind the Executive Order, as labour groups continue consultations with other industry stakeholders and unions to determine their next steps.
