The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has implored the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to increase its stake in Dangote Refinery to 45 percent for the country’s energy security.
The association president, Festus Osifo, made the call on Tuesday at a press conference to present its communique and recommendations from the 3rd edition of the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Lagos saying, “The Federal Government should increase the shareholding stake in Dangote Refinery from the current 7 percent to at least 45 percent. This will ensure further energy assurance and security for its citizens,”.
The shares of NNPC are held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated in equal portions, on behalf of the Federal Government. Thus, NNPC Limited’s shares are fully Federal Government owned until private investors acquire shares in NNPC Limited.
Osifo said Dangote can take all of his refined products and ship them to different parts of the world if the price is not right, as things stand at the time of the conference.
“The fertilisers produced today (by Dangote), most of them go abroad. So, if you don’t have shareholding there, they can take everything out. But if you have like 45 percent, you can tell Dangote to ship his 55 percent out and give us 45 percent.
“It will shore up our energy security, but it will not make the government to make decisions. You can’t make decisions with a 45 percent shareholding. Decisions are made when you have a 50.1 percent shareholding.
“But if things don’t go well, he can import his crude from any part of the world. He can take his refined products to different parts of the world. Remember, he operates in a free trade zone where he’s not governed by most of the laws in Nigeria.” he said
