The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has joined the chorus of concern over rising insecurity, urging the Federal Government to identify and prosecute sponsors of terrorism and take urgent action to curb the surge in kidnappings.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, issued the warning on Thursday during a press conference after the union’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, stressing that the worsening security situation threatens national development and citizens’ safety.
The National Assembly on Wednesday also demanded the public naming and prosecution of terrorism financiers as the Federal Government considers new measures to tackle the escalating insecurity nationwide.
During their plenary sessions, both the Senate and the House of Representatives called for the identification and exposure of those funding terrorism, describing it as a crucial step toward addressing the country’s worsening security crisis.
The proposal, put forward by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, aims to designate kidnapping, hostage-taking, and related offenses as acts of terrorism, granting security agencies broader authority to track, dismantle, and prosecute criminal networks nationwide.
Commenting on the issue, the labour union noted that insecurity remains a persistent challenge in the country and warned that the situation has intensified in recent weeks.
Osifo stated that although the recent appointment of a new Minister of Defence is a positive step, changes in personnel alone will not resolve Nigeria’s security challenges.
“Beyond changing personnel, the government, at all levels, must act decisively to stop this mess,” he said.
He questioned why, despite assertions that the sponsors of terrorist groups are known, they have neither been publicly identified nor held accountable.
He said, “Gentlemen of the press, during the NEC session, we discussed issues that are plaguing our country today, bordering on the state of insecurity in Nigeria. We have all seen how insecurity has been plaguing our land, how this particular challenge has worsened in the last few weeks.
“Yes, we just received that a new Minister of Defence will be sworn in in the next few hours or thereabouts. But beyond changing personnel, beyond bringing in one personnel to replace the other, which we value so much, because we strongly believe in human capital, the government, both at the federal, state, and local levels, should do everything possible to curb this mess.
“We have heard several times when they tell us that they know the sponsors of these terrorists. The question is, where are the sponsors? Why haven’t you named the sponsors? Why haven’t you exposed the sponsors? Why haven’t you gone after them, taken them to the lockup, and gotten them convicted to serve as deterrents to others? We are tired of always having one minute’s silence for our brothers and our sisters.
“We are tired of always coming up to keep condemning and condemning and condemning. Beyond condemnation, beyond rhetoric, like the government, even if it takes us to look at those sectors that are not critical, we can go to the National Assembly and divert the funds that are there for the sectors that are not critical, divert them, and use them to buy sophisticated equipment to go after these terrorists. Because it is a country that is safe.”
The union also condemned Nigeria’s economic challenges, highlighting rising market prices despite official reports of declining inflation.
Osifo called on the government to implement macroeconomic policies that deliver real relief to Nigerians, especially by stabilizing food prices and supporting farmers to resume cultivation.
