The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Sunday renewed its call for the Federal Government to divest majority shares in the nation’s state-owned refineries, urging authorities to adopt the Nigeria LNG model by selling at least 51 per cent equity to core investors.

Under this arrangement, the government would retain a minority stake while selling a majority shareholding to core investors.

The National President of PENGASSAN and the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, made the recommendation when he featured as a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television.

Osifo said the union had consistently canvassed partial privatisation of the refineries over the past two decades, insisting that government ownership structure had hindered efficiency and commercial viability.

He said, “We have always advocated in PENGASSAN in the last 20 years that the government should bring about the NLNG model in the refinery. And what is that? The government should take a minority stake in the refinery and sell the majority stake.

“At least, the government should sell a minimum of 51 per cent to investors. And these investors should be refiners. They shouldn’t just be portfolio investors or politicians or friends of the political class.

“But sell at least 51% of this refinery, you sell it to refiners. So we are not against the government selling a majority stake in the refinery. That is what we have advocated in recent years. If you check the NLNG model, it has worked. A combination of ENI, Total Energy and Shell has 51 per cent in NLNG.”

According to the union, divesting majority shares to private refiners would depoliticise refinery management, encourage fresh investment and promote profitability.

While expressing support for the current NNPCL management’s move to attract investors and divest, Osifo maintained that the government should still retain a minority stake to safeguard energy security.

“So when they are making decisions, their decisions are not subjected to any political whims and caprices. That is actually what we have advocated. The government should divest its interest in the refineries and allow a minimum of 51 per cent of its shareholding.

“Give it to private investors, let them invest, and allow them to come around the refineries. The advantage of it is that it will not be politicised. Businessmen will make business decisions that will impact and help them make a profit. That has been our position.

“Thank God, that is the direction this new NNPC management has said they are driving it to bring in investors and divest from it. But they should not sell it 100 per cent. The reason is because of energy security,” he assured.

Osifo’s position comes amid renewed debate over the future of Nigeria’s moribund state-owned refineries and the broader reform of the oil and gas sector following the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

His comments also followed remarks by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, who on Saturday praised Africa’s largest single-train refinery, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, describing it as a symbol of “technological audacity and national pride.”

Ojulari spoke during a landmark visit to the 650,000 barrels-per-day facility alongside members of the NNPC board and executive management team — the first official tour of the refinery by the senior leadership of the state oil firm. NNPC currently holds a seven per cent equity stake in the privately owned refinery.

The call by PENGASSAN signals organised labour’s conditional support for majority private participation in the country’s refining sector, provided the government retains a minority stake to safeguard energy security while insulating operations from political interference.

Oando Plc has commenced the second tranche of its stock dividend distribution, continuing the issuance of 1.28 billion additional shares to shareholders.

The milestone follows shareholder approval granted at the company’s 45th Annual General Meeting held on December 17, 2024, the firm stated in a statement on Sunday. At the meeting, shareholders authorised the Board to distribute shares received pursuant to the AGM resolution to shareholders of record on a pro-rata basis at dates determined by the Board.

Pursuant to this mandate, Oando notified the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public on February 5, 2025, that the Board, at its meeting on January 30, 2025, resolved to implement the distribution in phases over a 36-month period commencing January 30, 2025.

The first tranche, covering shareholders on the register at the close of business on February 14, 2025, was completed in August 20

Building on this, on February 10, 2026, the Board of Directors approved the commencement of Tranche 2, involving the distribution of 604,348,395 ordinary shares to shareholders on record as of June 30, 2025. The shares will be distributed on a pro-rata basis of two new ordinary shares for every 27 existing ordinary shares held. The Tranche 2 distribution is expected to be completed on or before March 31, 2026.

The phased distribution approach is part of the company’s efforts to enhance shareholder value while maintaining market stability and investor confidence in its long-term prospects.

The development follows Oando’s operational and financial performance in 2024 and 2025 after its $783m acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company and expansion across Africa, including the award of Block KON 13 in Angola’s Onshore Kwanza Basin.

Through the continued share distribution, Oando said it is reinforcing its position as a shareholder-focused company pursuing value creation, operational excellence, and sustainable growth across the African energy landscape.

Nigeria’s capital market has recorded a remarkable 125 per cent growth in market capitalisation since April 2024, rising from about N55 trillion to over N123.93 trillion, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has disclosed.

 

Agama also said the market’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased significantly from 13 per cent to 33 per cent within the same period, underscoring the sector’s expanding role in economic development.

 

He spoke in Lagos during his inaugural address to members of the Capital Market Working Group on Market Liquidity at the Commission’s office.

 

The SEC boss described the growth figures as evidence of strong investor confidence and the resilience of the Nigerian capital market under the current administration, but stressed that market size alone was not enough without corresponding depth and liquidity.

 

“Since this administration came into being in April 2024, we have seen market capitalisation grow from about N55 trillion to over N123.93 trillion. Our contribution to GDP has moved from 13 per cent to 33 per cent. These are impressive figures, but they tell only part of the story,” he said.

 

According to him, liquidity remains critical to sustaining the growth momentum, noting that a market must be deep and efficient to effectively perform its primary function of capital formation.

 

“A capital market is often described as the barometer of an economy’s health. But for that barometer to be accurate, the market must be more than just large—it must be liquid,” he said.

 

Agama identified key structural challenges, including high transaction impact costs for institutional investors and the concentration of trading activities in a limited number of highly capitalised stocks, which he said leaves the broader market relatively shallow.

 

He warned that without sufficient liquidity, investors may be reluctant to enter the market if they are uncertain about their ability to exit positions without significant price distortions.

 

To address these concerns, the SEC inaugurated a multi-stakeholder Working Group comprising exchanges, custodians, fund managers, dealing members and other market operators. The group is expected to develop practical recommendations to improve trading efficiency, deepen participation and enhance price discovery.

 

Among its mandates are a comprehensive review of trading and settlement infrastructure, identification of technical and structural bottlenecks affecting transaction speed, and proposals to make Nigeria’s settlement cycle more competitive with other emerging markets.

 

The group is also expected to recommend measures to broaden retail participation, with the SEC targeting the onboarding of up to 20 million new investors through digital platforms, dematerialisation of share certificates and fintech partnerships.

 

Agama noted that product innovation would also be central to improving liquidity, particularly through the accelerated development of derivatives and other asset classes that can provide hedging opportunities and deepen market activity.

 

He added that the recently enacted Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 has expanded the Commission’s regulatory oversight to include digital assets, creating an opportunity to channel speculative interest into regulated and productive investment channels.

 

Emphasising the strategic importance of the sector, the SEC DG said it plays a critical role in financing infrastructure, supporting businesses and driving job creation.

 

“The capital market is not gambling; it is the engine of national development. It finances roads, powers factories and creates jobs,” he said.

 

Agama urged members of the Working Group to produce bold and practical recommendations that would strengthen liquidity and support the Federal Government’s broader ambition of building a trillion-dollar economy.

 

He added that while the recent surge in market capitalisation and GDP contribution reflects strong progress, the next phase of reforms would focus on ensuring that the market is not only large, but deep, inclusive and globally competitive.

 

In his remarks, chairman of the Committee and Group CEO of NGX, Mr. Temi Popoola thanked the SEC for the opportunity and assured the DG that the team understands its mandate and will diagnose structural constraints with candour, align on practical reforms, and deliver measurable actions that will deepen liquidity, restore confidence, and strengthen the resilience of our market.