A leading union of oil workers has threatened to shut down the country if the federal government carries out the plan to sell national assets as a way out of the current economic recession.

The oil workers under the aegis of The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), described the plan to sell the national assets as a self-destructive move.

In a statement, PENGASSAN said that the plan, which is to solve short term financial obligations, is really aimed at handing over Nigeria’s collective common wealth to a few individuals.

The union is asking the federal government to instead look for other ways of increasing the revenue base of the country, while plugging loopholes and leakages in government’s finances.