…Tinubu nominates new NMDPRA, NUPRC chiefs
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees to head Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies, following the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Gbenga Komolafe as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Both Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In separate letters to the Senate, President Tinubu requested the expedited 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 President, the nominations are in line with the provisions of the PIA and are aimed at ensuring continuity, stability, and effective regulation of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Eyesan is a seasoned oil and gas professional with nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and its subsidiaries. A graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, she retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, serving from 2023 to 2024. She had earlier held the position of Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC between 2019 and 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, is a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained his degree in 1981. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His extensive career includes serving as Managing Director of 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, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for key national gas initiatives and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played pivotal roles in the delivery of major energy infrastructure projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The President expressed confidence that the nominees possess the requisite experience and expertise to drive effective regulation, deepen investment, and support the Federal Government’s energy security and economic growth objectives.
The Senate is expected to consider the nominations in the coming days.
The nominations were announced in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on December 17, 2025.
