Oluwafunbi Bello 
PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo speaking at NEC meeting in Abuja.
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is confronting a looming talent crisis as skilled professionals consider leaving the country due to rapidly deteriorating compensation conditions, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned.
Speaking after the union’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Thursday, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said naira devaluation and rising inflation have severely weakened workers’ purchasing power, making foreign job offers increasingly attractive.
“A drilling engineer in Nigeria does the same job as one in the U.S. or Abu Dhabi,” Osifo said. “If we don’t act, the brain drains seen in other sectors will be child’s play.”
He confirmed that although PENGASSAN has secured improved conditions for members through collective bargaining with government agencies, international oil companies and service providers, current economic realities have outpaced these gains.
“This industry recruits the best. Companies must provide the best conditions,” Osifo said, urging operators delaying salary reviews to act immediately despite macroeconomic pressures.
The labour leader also criticised the government’s handling of the country’s worsening security crisis. He argued that persistent insecurity undermines economic growth and erodes public confidence.
“We are tired of condemnations. The government must expose sponsors and protect citizens,” he said, calling for better equipment and funding for security forces and supporting the creation of state police.
Osifo stressed that insecurity has stopped many farmers from accessing farmlands, contradicting official claims of economic improvement. “Nigerians want to see food on the table, not macroeconomic figures,” he said.
He urged authorities to improve coordination between monetary and fiscal policies to deliver real improvements to household welfare.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Korede Abdullah 
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