The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Federal Government of planning to sell its equity in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to high-performing joint ventures.

The opposition warned that such a move could endanger Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and long-term stability.

ADC also accused the government of proposing amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary, the National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, warned that “If we sell off our oil assets, we are not just parting with numbers on a balance sheet, we are surrendering the lifeblood of our economy and the backbone of our national sovereignty.”

He noted that the ADC fully supports the stance of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), who had earlier written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rejecting both the proposed PIA amendments and the planned sell-offs.

According to Abdullahi, the proposals form “part of a deliberate and calculated effort to hollow out NNPC Limited, dismantle institutional checks and balances, and pave the way for the fire-sale of Nigeria’s most valuable national assets to private, politically connected interests.

“By handing decisive control of these assets to private interests, the government weakens Nigeria’s ability to stabilise energy supply, respond to global oil shocks, or plan long-term energy strategies in the national interest.”

He further argued that stripping NNPC of its most profitable holdings would push it into debt, threaten thousands of jobs, and undermine revenues that should fund schools, hospitals, roads and pensions.

“Most dangerously of all, it would set an irreversible precedent, turning our commonwealth into private property, and leaving future generations of Nigerians with nothing but memories of what was once theirs,” Abdullahi added.