President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the Senate’s approval for the appointment of new chief executives to head Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their current leaders.
In separate letters to the Senate, the President nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The President urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process.
The nominations followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former head of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, former Chief Executive of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act.
According to the Presidency, the nominees are seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the oil and gas sector. 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, in 2024, having 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, obtained in 1981. He was announced on the same day as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His career includes serving as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairing 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 for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
Engineer Mohammed was also involved in the delivery of major projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The nominations are expected to be considered by the Senate in the coming days.
