Group Tells FG to Increase Stake in Dangote Refinery From 7 to 45 Percent
- PENGASSAN urged the federal government to increase its shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery
- It explained that the development will ensure further energy assurance and security for the citizens
- According to the group's president, the high stake in the refinery would enhance energy security
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has requested that the federal government expand its stake in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from the existing 7% to at least 45% to provide assurance and energy security.
Source: UGC
It was stated that doing this will give the public even more energy security and assurance.
Festus Osifo, the president of PENGASSAN, made the request on Tuesday in Lagos while delivering the organisation's communiqué and suggestions from the most recent Energy and Labor Summit, according to a Punch report.
Importance of energy security
He clarified that the substantial ownership of the refinery will improve energy security, pointing out that this is essential to any country's existence—Nigeria is no different—and that as a result, the people demand that energy be affordable, accessible, and readily available.
Osifo further said that the government should collaborate with the private sector to preserve the petroleum product storage facilities currently in place in the nation's six geopolitical zones.
“When operational, petroleum products will be stored there and only made available when there is a shortage in supply. This will help in eliminating the bad roads and severe erosion-imposed perennial shortages that often lead to queues at petrol stations across the country,” he said.
In order to lessen the burden that trucks transporting these goods place on the nation's roadways, Osifo emphasized the development of pipelines that could be used to transport refined petroleum products throughout the whole nation.
He said that energy needs to be affordable in order to be secure, and the government needs to do everything within its power to stabilize the exchange rate since the ongoing depreciation of the naira will significantly impair the affordability of energy in Nigeria.
He encouraged the federal government to step up efforts to get the nation's four refineries operating in order to ensure local manufacturing of petroleum products.
He emphasized that, once the four refineries are operating, the government should sell off the majority of its shares and hold no more than 49% of the total, with key investors coming in to take the remaining 51%.
Group speaks on operation of Port Harcourt refinery
Legit.ng reported that the president of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, gave his two cents on subsidy removal in Nigeria.
He made this known in an interview with journalists on the country’s current business environment and the need to achieve the complete removal of petrol subsidies.
He said the issue of subsidy has been creating a lot of corruption in the petroleum business in Nigeria. He, however, advocated for the total removal of subsidies to allow individuals to come and play in the field, just the way Dangote has done.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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