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BREAKING: Tinubu Replaces Buhari-Era Oil Regulators As Farouk Ahmed, Komolafe Quit, Nominates New Chiefs For Senate Approval
The two regulatory bodies were established under the PIA to oversee Nigeria’s oil and gas industry following the unbundling of the former Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Abuja, Nigeria– President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two new chief executives to the Senate for confirmation following the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, the heads of Nigeria’s downstream and upstream petroleum regulators respectively.
The presidency said the nominations followed the exit of Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
In a statement released on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga disclosed that both men were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In separate letters to the Senate, President Tinubu requested expedited 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.
The two regulatory bodies were established under the PIA to oversee Nigeria’s oil and gas industry following the unbundling of the former Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Eyesan, an economist and long-time oil industry insider, is a graduate of the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, 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, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His career spans decades at the highest levels of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, including stints as 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.
Mohammed previously served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he played a key role in shaping Nigeria’s gas policy framework, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
According to Onanuga, he was instrumental in the execution of major infrastructure projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
