JUST IN: Farouk Ahmed, Komolafe Resign as Tinubu Seeks Confirmation of New NMDPRA, NUPRC Heads
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their current heads.
The President has requested the Senate’s approval for the appointment of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The nominations followed the voluntary resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, who headed the NMDPRA, and Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In separate letters to the Senate, President Tinubu urged lawmakers to expedite the confirmation process, citing the strategic importance of the two agencies to the effective regulation of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The nominees are described as seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the energy industry.
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Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, where she served between 2023 and 2024. Prior to that, she was Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, who was born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, obtained in 1981. He was also announced on Tuesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His career spans several leadership roles, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also served as Chairman of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries and NNPC Retail.
Mohammed previously held the position of Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks such as the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code and key contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played a prominent role in the delivery of critical national gas infrastructure projects, including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The nominations, according to the Presidency, are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen governance and regulatory efficiency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector under the Petroleum Industry Act.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
By PRNigeria
