…..Tinubu names new oil regulators
President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to confirm new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission following the resignation of the current heads of the agencies.
Tinubu’s request was contained in a separate letters to the Senate on Wednesday.
Farouk Ahmed resigned as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, while Gbenga Komolafe stepped down as Chief Executive of the NUPRC.
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari after the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act.
The latest development was confirmed in a statement issued by the spokesman of the President, Chief Bayo Onanuga.
To fill these positions, 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.
According to the statement the two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.
Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the NNPC and its subsidiaries.
She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering.
He was announced today as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His prior roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chair of the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
He also served as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Engineer Mohammed played a pivotal role in delivering key projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train.
Meanwhile, this is coming after Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Group, petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against Ahmed Farouk, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
In the petition, dated and submitted on December 16 through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, Dangote called on the anti-graft agency to arrest, investigate and prosecute the NMDPRA boss for allegedly living far beyond his legitimate means as a public servant.
Dangote alleged that Farouk spent over $7 million on his children’s education in Switzerland.
Dangote provided details of the children and schools involved, urging the commission to investigate and prosecute if found culpable.
He stresses that Farouk’s public sector salary couldn’t justify such expenditure.