President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory agencies following the resignation of their current heads.
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 nominations come after 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 following the establishment of the regulatory bodies under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In a letter to the Senate, President Tinubu requested the expedited consideration and confirmation of the nominees, describing them as experienced professionals with deep expertise in the oil and gas sector.
Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, between 2023 and 2024, and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, obtained in 1981. He has held several senior leadership positions in the energy sector, including Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.
He has also served as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for key national gas initiatives and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
Engineer Mohammed played significant roles in the execution of major gas infrastructure projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects. He was also recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
The nominations are expected to strengthen regulatory oversight and advance reforms in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, pending Senate approval.
