TINUBU SEEKS SENATE CONFIRMATION FOR NEW OIL REGULATORS AFTER SUDDEN RESIGNATIONS

President Bola Tinubu has requested the Senate to approve new chief executives for Nigeria’s two main petroleum regulatory agencies. This follows the abrupt resignations of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The resignations come barely twenty-four hours after Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, leveled allegations of corruption against Farouk Ahmed. Both outgoing officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced the developments in a statement on Wednesday. “President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA,” Onanuga said. He added, “The two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.”

Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan is a University of Benin Economics graduate with nearly thirty-three years of experience at the NNPC and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, serving from 2023 to 2024, and previously held the position of Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.

Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in Gombe in 1957, is a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University. He was announced just today as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy. His extensive career includes roles as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.

Furthermore, Engineer Mohammed served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate. In that capacity, he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He played a pivotal role in delivering key national projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.