The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has issued a dire warning, stating that the nation’s crucial oil and gas sector risks a massive exodus of skilled professionals due to uncompetitive pay and the devastating effects of Naira devaluation and inflation.
Mr Festus Osifo, President of PENGASSAN, told journalists in Abuja that the sector’s highly specialised skills are globally competitive, making Nigerian professionals susceptible to better opportunities abroad.
“A drilling engineer in Nigeria does the same job as one in the U.S. or Abu Dhabi,” Mr Osifo stressed. He warned that if the union does not take swift steps to bridge the wage gap, the brain drain seen in other sectors will be “child’s play” compared to the mass departure expected from the oil and gas industry. He urged companies to stop delaying salary reviews and implement measures that reflect the rising cost of living for their employees.
The union’s concern highlights a severe economic risk. Analysts repeatedly point out that the emigration of highly specialized engineers and geologists directly hampers Nigeria’s ability to explore and develop new resources efficiently. The resulting skills gap increases operational costs often by forcing companies to hire expensive expatriates and severely limits the adoption of new technologies crucial for maximising Nigeria’s primary revenue source.
The loss of these technical assets undermines the industry’s long-term sustainability and threatens Nigeria’s competitive edge in the global energy market.
Beyond remuneration, PENGASSAN linked the nation’s instability to the deteriorating welfare of citizens. Mr Osifo argued that macroeconomic figures mean little if Nigerians cannot afford food.
“Nigerians want to see food on the table, not macroeconomic figures,” he insisted, urging the government to ensure that economic gains translate into tangible relief for households. He demanded that fiscal and monetary authorities better coordinate their policies to “translate macro results to food on the table” and stabilise consumer purchasing power.
Addressing the pervasive insecurity plaguing the country, which prevents farmers from returning to their fields and drives up food prices, Mr Osifo called for decisive government action.
“We are tired of condemnations. Government must expose sponsors and protect citizens,” he asserted. Furthermore, PENGASSAN threw its support behind calls for the establishment of state police, arguing that decentralising the security architecture would significantly improve local response and better protect citizens than rhetoric alone.
