PENGASSAN Focuses Wrongly on Tinubu Oil Order, Says Iledare

Professor Emeritus Wumi Iledare, an energy expert and petroleum economist, has criticized the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for its opposition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order on oil and gas revenue remittance. In a statement on Friday, Prof. Iledare argued that the union’s advocacy targets peripheral issues rather than addressing deeper structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

The dispute follows an Executive Order directing the direct remittance of oil and gas revenues to the Federation Account. This policy removes two income streams from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.): a 30 percent management fee on Profit Oil and Profit Gas, and a separate 30 percent Frontier Exploration Fund. PENGASSAN, whose president Festus Osifo raised concerns on Thursday, warned that the order could endanger over 4,000 jobs and called for its immediate withdrawal.

However, Prof. Iledare stated that the union is “directing its advocacy in the wrong direction.” He noted that symbolic confrontations, such as opposing the Executive Order, fail to resolve fundamental bottlenecks. Instead, he urged focus on the inconsistent implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Nigeria’s comprehensive oil and gas reform law enacted in 2021. According to Prof. Iledare, the PIA’s effectiveness is undermined by uneven operationalization, including the absence of fully empowered and independent boards for regulatory bodies, governance gaps that weaken credibility, and a lack of coordinated leadership for sector alignment.

He emphasized that sustainable reform requires strengthening institutions, ensuring predictable governance, and enforcing the PIA fully. “If there must be protest or advocacy, it should focus on institutional functionality,” Prof. Iledare said, highlighting issues like institutional sequencing challenges that deter investor confidence. He warned that diverting energy to unwinnable battles distracts from foundational reforms necessary for long-term stability.

This exchange underscores a key tension in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector: balancing immediate labor and revenue concerns with the imperative for robust regulatory frameworks. As debates continue over the Executive Order and PIA implementation, the push for institutional integrity remains central to shaping the industry’s future.