Tinubu Appoints New Oil Regulators as NMDPRA, NUPRC Chiefs Resign

• President Bola Tinubu has forwarded new nominations to the Senate following the resignation of the chief executives of Nigeria’s two key petroleum regulatory agencies.

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, and his counterpart at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, have resigned from their positions.

Following their exit, President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to approve the appointment of new chief executives to lead the two petroleum regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the President’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who said the nominations were submitted in response to the resignation of the two officials.

Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the NMDPRA and NUPRC respectively, shortly after the enactment of the PIA.

To replace them, President Tinubu nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as the new Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC, and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA, urging the Senate to fast-track their confirmation.

According to the Presidency, both nominees are seasoned professionals with decades of experience in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Eyesan is an Economics graduate of the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, between 2023 and 2024, and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at the NNPC from 2019 to 2023.

Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, obtained in 1981. He was also announced on Tuesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

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His career includes stints as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairman of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.

Engineer Mohammed also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership on major gas infrastructure projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.

He played a key role in the delivery of landmark projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train expansion projects.

The Senate is expected to consider the nominations in the coming days.