President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated new chief executives for Nigeria’s upstream and midstream/downstream petroleum regulatory agencies, following the resignation of their current heads.
The President has asked the Senate to confirm 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).
According to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the nominations became necessary after Engineer Farouk Ahmed and Gbenga Komolafe stepped down from their positions as heads of the NMDPRA and NUPRC respectively.
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, following the establishment of the agencies under the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.
Mr. Onanuga said President Tinubu has requested the Senate to give the nominations expedited consideration.
He explained that Mrs. Eyesan is a seasoned oil and gas professional with close to 33 years’ experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and its subsidiaries.
She is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream. She also previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at the NNPC between 2019 and 2023.
On Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, Mr. Onanuga said the nominee was born in 1957 in Gombe State and graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981 with a degree in Chemical Engineering.
He was also announced on Tuesday as an independent non-executive director of Seplat Energy.
Engineer Mohammed has held several strategic positions in the oil and gas sector, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
The presidential spokesman noted that Engineer Mohammed also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks such as the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played key roles in landmark projects including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
The nominations have been forwarded to the Senate for consideration and confirmation.