Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), have resigned their appointments.
This is contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday.
Following their resignation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as chief executive officers of the petroleum regulatory agencies.
The President requested the Senate’s approval of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA.
Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In a letter to the Senate, Tinubu urged expedited consideration and confirmation of the nominees, citing the strategic importance of the agencies to the effective regulation and growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Eyesan is a seasoned industry professional with nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Benin and retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, between 2023 and 2024. She also served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer 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 career spans roles 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.
He also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
The statement said Engineer Mohammed played a key role in the delivery of major gas infrastructure projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The nominations are expected to be considered by the Senate in the coming days.
