The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has overhauled its leadership structure to mirror the model used by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. The move aims to prevent the power struggles that have historically plagued the union during transitions.
Festus Osifo, who leads PENGASSAN, unveiled the constitutional changes on Saturday in Abuja. He made the announcement at a ceremony honouring Francis Johnson, the union's former president who died in office on May 31, 2019.
Johnson's sudden death exposed glaring gaps in how PENGASSAN managed leadership handovers. That crisis prompted the union to examine succession practices across Nigeria's major professional bodies.
PENGASSAN amended its constitution in August 2025 to implement the new framework. Under the revised rules, the deputy president will automatically ascend to the top job when the sitting president's term ends.
This eliminates the need for a separate presidential election. Instead, members will only contest for the deputy president position.
"We examined different succession models, including that of the Nigerian Bar Association, but found the ICAN model more suitable," Osifo told reporters. "Under ICAN's arrangement, members contest for the office of the vice president, while the President emerges through succession.
We have now adopted the same principle in PENGASSAN."
The change clarifies the path to leadership well in advance. This transparency has dramatically reduced the internal manoeuvring that previously destabilised the union.
"Whoever is elected deputy president will automatically become the president. There is no contest for the presidency again," Osifo said.
"That certainty has brought remarkable stability to the union."
In the past, transition periods triggered widespread jockeying for power as much as two years before a leader stepped down. Factions within PENGASSAN would mobilise support and engage in bitter disputes over succession.
"Two years before a transition, the union would already be engulfed in disputes," Osifo noted. "Today, the National Executive Council and the Central Working Committee remain united.
The transition is progressing smoothly without any rancour."
The delegates' conference where the next leadership will formally take office is scheduled for August 22, 2026. Osifo views the constitutional amendment as a defining achievement of the current administration.
The reform allows PENGASSAN to concentrate on defending workers' rights and pushing for changes in Nigeria's petroleum sector. Internal succession battles will no longer consume the union's energy and resources.
PENGASSAN, established in 1978, ranks among Nigeria's most powerful trade unions. It represents senior-level employees across the oil and gas industry.
