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.
The nominations follow the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In letters to the Senate, President Tinubu requested the confirmation of Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC, and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA.
Eyesan is an economist and seasoned oil and gas professional, with nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, in 2024, and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, between 2019 and 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, is a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He has held several strategic positions in the energy sector, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Engineer Mohammed recently emerged as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy. His career includes serving as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided leadership on key gas infrastructure projects and policy frameworks such as the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and the Petroleum Industry Act.
President Tinubu urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process to ensure continuity and effective regulation of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
