President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their current heads.
The President requested the Senate’s approval 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 follow the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former head of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, former Chief Executive of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former head of the NMDPRA
According to the President, the nominations were transmitted to the Senate with a request for expedited confirmation.
Gbenga Komolafe, former Chief Executive of the NUPRC
Eyesan is an economist and seasoned oil and gas professional with nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, having earlier served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, from 2019 to 2023. She is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin.
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 recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His previous appointments include 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.
Mohammed also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he played a key role in the development of major gas policies and projects, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act. His project experience includes the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The Senate is expected to consider the nominations in the coming days.
