President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the Senate to confirm the nominations of two new chief executives for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the request followed the resignation of the Chief Executive Officers of both agencies Engineer Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC. The two officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari following the establishment of the regulators under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
President Tinubu has accordingly forwarded the names of Ms. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA for expedited Senate confirmation.
The nominees are described as seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the oil and gas sector.
Ms. Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, serving from 2023 to 2024, and previously held the position of Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC between 2019 and 2023.
Engineer Saidu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His previous roles 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.
He also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership on major gas infrastructure projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Master Plan, the Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
Mr. Mohammed played key roles in the delivery of landmark projects such as the Escravos Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and the Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The President urged the Senate to give prompt consideration to the nominations to ensure continuity and stability in the regulation of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
