President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies, following the resignation of their incumbent heads.
The nominations come in the wake of the voluntary exit of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, former Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
According to reports, both Engineers Farouk Ahmed and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe resigned from their positions following recent corruption allegations publicly raised by industrialist Aliko Dangote. The resignations came amid heightened scrutiny and growing calls for Engineer Farouk Ahmed to be investigated following the payment of millions of dollars for his children school fees.
Dangote went as far as printing out the names and school of Mallam Farouk’s children. See details below:
However, In a letter to the Senate, President Tinubu requested expedited consideration and confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA.
According to the Presidency, the nominees are seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the oil and gas sector, bringing decades of technical, operational, and strategic expertise to their prospective roles.
Ms. Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, a position she held between 2023 and 2024. Prior to that, she served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023, where she played a key role in shaping corporate and upstream strategies.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981. He was also announced on Tuesday as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Seplat Energy.
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His distinguished career spans several leadership roles within Nigeria’s energy sector, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has chaired 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, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major national gas initiatives and policy frameworks. His contributions include the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and key inputs into the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played pivotal roles in the delivery of landmark projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train developments.
The Presidency expressed confidence that the nominees’ wealth of experience would strengthen regulatory oversight and advance the objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act in promoting transparency, efficiency, and growth across Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain.
The statement was signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
