…name Eyesan, Saidu as replacements
In a significant shake-up of Nigeria’s energy sector, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has accepted the resignations of the chief executives of the nation’s two primary petroleum regulatory bodies.
The resignations come in the wake of a deepening public dispute and serious allegations of financial impropriety leveled against the NMDPRA leadership by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group. Just 24 hours prior to the resignations, Dangote formally petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), accusing Farouk Ahmed of illicit enrichment and abuse of office.
The petition alleged that Ahmed’s lifestyle far exceeded his legitimate earnings as a public servant, specifically citing over $7 million reportedly spent on the elite education of his four children in Switzerland and the United States.
Dangote’s legal team further alleged that the regulator had actively frustrated domestic refining efforts through the continued issuance of petroleum import licenses, suggesting collusion with international trading interests.
The departures of Engineer Farouk Ahmed of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Gbenga Komolafe of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) mark the end of an era for the leadership team originally appointed in 2021 following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
To ensure continuity within the critical sector, the President has formally transmitted a request to the Senate for the expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as the new CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as the CEO of NMDPRA.
The transition comes at a pivotal moment as the administration seeks to stabilize the midstream and upstream sectors to drive national revenue and energy security.
The President’s nominees bring over six decades of combined industry experience to their respective roles. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan, an Economics graduate from the University of Benin, is a veteran of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Having served nearly 33 years across various subsidiaries, Eyesan reached the pinnacle of her career as the Executive Vice President of Upstream. Her previous tenure as Group General Manager for Corporate Planning and Strategy is expected to be instrumental in navigating the complex regulatory landscape of the upstream sector.
Complementing this appointment is Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, a distinguished Chemical Engineer from Ahmadu Bello University.
Mohammed’s resume includes high-level executive roles, such as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. Notably, he was a key architect of the Gas Masterplan and the Gas Network Code, and he oversaw the delivery of monumental infrastructure projects including the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline.
The leadership change signifies the administration’s intent to inject fresh expertise into the regulatory agencies created by the PIA. By selecting individuals with deep institutional knowledge of the NNPC and the broader gas value chain, President Tinubu appears focused on optimizing the “Gas-to-Power” initiative and enhancing the transparency of downstream operations.
The Senate is expected to begin the screening process for both nominees immediately to prevent a leadership vacuum in the agencies.
As the industry awaits the formal takeover, stakeholders remain optimistic that the new leadership will address the lingering challenges of crude oil theft, infrastructure deficits, and the volatile pricing of petroleum products across the federation.
