The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has identified political interference which denied workers the tools, resources, and enabling environment to deliver effectively as the reasons why the government owned refineries are failing in Nigeria.
The association’s President, Festus Osifo, who stated this yesterday at the ongoing 4th PENGASSAN and Labour Summit (PEALS 2025), also identified widespread corruption and mismanagement as reasons for the failure of the refineries.
The three-day summit holding in Abuja is themed, “Building a Resilient Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria: Advancing HSE, ESG, Investment and Incremental Production.
Osifo said Nigeria’s energy future requires more than skilled manpower and there is the urgent need for tools, policy stability, and supportive reforms to drive growth in the energy sector.
According to him, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian workers successfully operated offshore platforms after expatriates departed.
He said the development had proven that the country possessed skilled manpower capable of sustaining global-standard energy production without disruption.
According to Osifo, policy inconsistencies and political interference undermine investor confidence and cripple the nation’s oil and gas sector.
He also expressed concerns over frequent changes to petroleum laws, warning they discourage vital investments.
He added that predictability in fiscal regimes is key to attracting petrodollar into Nigeria’s economy and long-term infrastructure development.
