The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked President Bola Tinubu to withdraw his directive on oil revenue remittances.
Recall, the President on Wednesday signed an executive order requiring that royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas, and other revenues from production sharing, profit sharing, and risk service contracts be paid directly into the Federation Account.
The order also removed the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund under the PIA and ended the 30 per cent management fee on profit oil and profit gas previously retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said the union was “troubled” by the move and called for the immediate reversal of the order.
The union said the order, which reportedly alters the existing revenue framework in the oil and gas industry, runs contrary to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and threatens the operational stability of key agencies.
PENGASSAN expressed concern that the directive could disrupt cash flow management within the industry, discourage investment, and potentially put thousands of jobs at risk if not urgently reviewed.
According to the association, the policy shift may weaken investor confidence at a time when the country is striving to boost crude oil production and attract fresh capital into the sector.
“Yesterday evening, we saw a release by one of the presidential spokesmen, Bayo Onanuga, releasing the content of the recently signed Executive Order. When we saw that order yesterday, we were troubled.
“Yes, we acknowledge that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has a right to enact executive orders. We know that he has a duty and responsibility to protect and safeguard the industry.
But we strongly believe that in this particular case, the president has been misled. We strongly believe that the people advising the president did not tell him the entire truth,” Osifo said.
The union urged the Federal Government to engage stakeholders in meaningful dialogue and ensure that any fiscal or administrative reforms align strictly with the legal framework guiding the industry.
It maintained that protecting jobs and sustaining growth in the oil and gas sector must remain a top priority, stressing that policies capable of undermining stability should be reconsidered in the national interest.
