By Moses John
President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has called for stronger, smarter and more predictable regulatory frameworks to attract investment, increase oil and gas production and protect workers in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Osifo made the call while delivering his address at the 5th edition of the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit (PELS 2026), where he urged government, regulators, operators, investors and organised labour to deepen collaboration in addressing the structural challenges confronting the sector.
The summit, themed “Strengthening Regulatory Frameworks as a Catalyst for Stability and Growth in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry,” brought together key stakeholders to deliberate on regulation, investment, production, energy security, local content and workforce protection.
According to Osifo, the oil and gas industry requires a regulatory environment that is predictable, transparent, efficient and fair, noting that investors need clear rules, operators need certainty, workers need protection, host communities need confidence, while government requires sustainable revenues from the sector.
He expressed concern over changes to Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory framework since the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, particularly alterations to fiscal provisions and the use of executive instruments to amend provisions of the law.
“These do not instil confidence or promote stability. Instead, they amplify uncertainty and disruption,” he said.
Osifo also called for better coordination among the various institutions regulating the petroleum industry, arguing that overlapping mandates could result in repetitive approvals, multiple inspections and conflicting directives.
He stressed that the challenge was not necessarily the number of regulatory institutions but the efficiency and clarity of their mandates.
“What we require is not weak regulations. What we need is smarter regulations — regulations that understand commercial realities, embrace technology and eliminate unnecessary duplication,” he said
The PENGASSAN President placed significant emphasis on the protection of workers amid acquisitions, divestments and other commercial transactions in the petroleum industry.
He maintained that workers should not be treated as commodities that could simply be discarded whenever ownership of an asset changes.
“Licences and assets may change hands, but workers are not commodities to be discarded at will,” Osifo declared, stressing that jobs, pensions, collective bargaining agreements and other established workers’ rights must be protected.
He argued that worker protection should be regarded as an integral part of industry stability and urged employers, regulators and government to ensure that commercial decisions do not undermine the livelihoods of petroleum workers.
Osifo equally raised concerns over the deployment of expatriate workers in positions where qualified Nigerians are available.
While acknowledging the importance of foreign expertise where genuine skills gaps exist, he insisted that expatriate employment must be tied to measurable knowledge transfer, succession planning and the development of Nigerian professionals.
He called for stronger enforcement of Nigeria’s local content framework, stressing that local content should extend beyond procurement to employment and human-capital development.
Speed up approvals without compromising safety
The labour leader also urged regulators to shorten approval processes for investments and development projects, noting that capital would naturally move towards jurisdictions offering greater clarity and efficiency.
Nigeria, he said, could not afford regulatory processes that unnecessarily delay development plans, final investment decisions and projects capable of increasing production.
However, he cautioned that faster approvals must not come at the expense of safety, environmental protection or regulatory oversight.
“Speed must never come at the expense of proper oversight. There must always be a balance,” he said.
Osifo further called for consistent enforcement of health and safety standards, environmental regulations, local content requirements, labour practices and operational integrity.
“The life of a Nigerian worker must never become the price we pay for increased production,” he stated.
Nigeria must unlock oil and gas potential
The PENGASSAN President said Nigeria must go beyond recovering lost crude oil production and focus on unlocking new reserves, attracting fresh capital and sustainably increasing both oil and gas output.
He also called for greater investment in domestic refining, gas processing and the expansion of LPG, CNG and LNG infrastructure.
According to him, Nigeria’s gas resources offer enormous opportunities in power generation, petrochemicals, fertiliser production, transportation and industrialisation.
“Resources beneath the ground create little value until investments are made to make them usable,” he said.
Osifo noted that recent improvements in production and renewed investment activity were encouraging, but stressed that sustained policy consistency would be required to consolidate the gains
The PENGASSAN President also highlighted the social interventions of the PENGASSAN Foundation, which he said had supported underserved communities through the construction and renovation of schools, payment of hospital bills for indigent Nigerians and provision of transformers to communities.
He said the foundation had also supported people living with disabilities and other vulnerable Nigerians across the country.
Osifo further announced the continuation of PENGASSAN’s national academic competition for secondary school students, with winners expected to be recognised during the summit’s gala event.
Osifo bids farewell as PENGASSAN President
The summit also provided an opportunity for Osifo to reflect on his tenure as PENGASSAN President, as he prepares to leave office following the union’s National Delegate Conference.
He said the 2026 edition of PELS held special significance because it would be his final summit address as president.
Osifo recalled that the summit was conceived five years ago as a platform through which organised labour could engage government, regulators, operators and investors—not only to identify problems but also to contribute to solving them.
He expressed pride in the growth of PELS and urged future leadership to sustain and strengthen the platform.
“My expectation is that PELS will continue to grow after this administration, becoming stronger and more consequential in shaping Nigeria’s energy industry and protecting the interests of our members,” he said.
He thanked PENGASSAN members for giving the leadership the opportunity to serve, while stressing that administrations would come and go but the association would remain.
Call for stronger labour-industry partnership
Osifo emphasised that no single stakeholder could build the petroleum industry Nigeria desires.
“Government cannot build the industry we desire alone. Regulators cannot do it alone. Operators cannot do it alone. Labour cannot do it alone,” he said.
He called for collaboration, accountability, predictability and mutual respect among stakeholders, arguing that investment was necessary for projects, projects were necessary for sustainable jobs, production was necessary for revenue, while fairness and stability were essential for long-term sustainability.
He also advocated an industrial environment characterised by international best practices, occupational safety, fair labour practices, productivity, technological advancement, skills development, responsible corporate governance and respect for collective bargaining.
According to him, industrial peace should not be defined merely as the absence of strikes or disputes, but as the presence of justice, mutual respect, effective communication, responsible engagement and shared prosperity.
“Where workers feel valued, business benefits. Where employers are treated fairly, productivity improves. Where regulators are consistent and transparent, investment becomes more sustainable. And where government, labour and industry work together, the entire nation benefits,” Osifo said.
He concluded by saluting Nigerian oil and gas workers for their professionalism and sacrifice, while appreciating regulators, operators, investors, sponsors and other partners for their support for PELS over the years.
Osifo said PENGASSAN remained committed to building a stronger, fairer and more prosperous Nigerian oil and gas industry in which both capital and labour could prosper.
“PELS matters,” he declared, adding that the summit should provide practical pathways towards an industry where regulation enables rather than frustrates investment, production grows, workers are protected and Nigerians derive greater value from the nation’s natural resources
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