President Bola Tinubu has nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan and Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as chief executive officers of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), respectively.
The nominations followed the resignation of Gbenga Komolafe and Farouk Ahmed as heads of the two petroleum regulatory agencies.
The development was announced on Wednesday in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson to President Tinubu.
Komolafe and Ahmed were both appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the petroleum regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act.
In separate letters, President Tinubu requested the Senate’s expedited confirmation of Eyesan and Mohammed.
According to the statement, the nominations were presented as part of efforts to ensure continuity and effective oversight within Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory framework.
“Eyesan is an economics graduate of the University of Benin and has nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and its subsidiaries.
“She retired from the NNPC as Executive Vice President, Upstream, having earlier served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, between 2019 and 2023.
“Mohammed, who was born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
“He was recently appointed an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy and previously served as managing director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.
“Mohammed has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail. As Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, he provided strategic leadership on major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Master Plan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played key roles in major projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano gas pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train developments.”
The Senate is expected to consider the nominations in the coming days.