PENGASSAN reforms succession process, scraps presidential contests

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has introduced a new leadership succession framework aimed at eliminating the conflicts and divisions that have often accompanied changes at the top of the union.

The President of the association, Festus Osifo, said the reform was designed to provide certainty in leadership transitions, reduce internal rivalry and preserve stability within the organisation.

Osifo spoke in Abuja on Saturday during a tribute programme held in memory of the union’s former president, Francis Johnson, whose death in office in May 2019 exposed the need for a more structured succession process.

Johnson led PENGASSAN from June 2014 until his death on May 31, 2019, following a brief illness at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Reflecting on the lessons from that period, Osifo said the union decided to review its constitution after studying succession practices in other professional bodies.

According to him, members eventually approved a constitutional amendment in August 2025 introducing a system under which the deputy president-elect will automatically succeed the president at the end of the latter’s tenure.

He explained that the approach removes the need for a separate contest for the presidency, thereby reducing the tensions that typically arise before leadership changes.

He said: “In fact, we did a constitutional amendment that was unanimously passed in August last year, where we looked at it: what is the best model that we have in our country in terms of succession? We looked at the Nigerian Bar Association and said no, that is not the best model. We looked at ICAN, for example.

“We said, yes, I think there is something there. If you look at ICAN, they don’t contest the election into the president, but they contest the election into the vice because the president is already known. Because he is known, the senior or the first vice-president will transit to become the president. So, that balances and smoothens whatever they were doing. And we have imbibed that in PENGASSAN.

“In PENGASSAN, whoever is the deputy president elected is going to automatically become the president. So, there is no contestation again in the office of the president. So, that is known. So, because that is known, it reduces the tension that normally comes. And I will tell you, our transition is going to be in August. Normally, two years before transition in PENGASSAN, you will see problems everywhere.

“But I will tell you, 100 per cent stability. The National Executive Council and the Central Working Committee, we are intact. The transition is going smoothly. There is no issue as of today whatsoever. And that is one thing that we are proud of. That is one of the legacies to bequeath to this institution that has been founded since 1978.”

Osifo said the constitutional review followed a careful assessment of leadership succession models used by organisations such as the Nigerian Bar Association and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He noted that PENGASSAN considered the ICAN arrangement the most suitable for its own structure.

He added that the new framework would allow the union to concentrate on protecting the interests of its members instead of being distracted by prolonged leadership contests.

PENGASSAN is expected to implement the new arrangement during its delegates’ conference scheduled for August 22, 2026, when a new leadership is due to emerge.