President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the appointment of new chief executive officers for the Nigerian Midstream and...
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the appointment of new chief executive officers for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), following the resignation of the agencies’ heads.
The request comes after Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the NUPRC, stepped down from their positions. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said President Tinubu had forwarded the names of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed to the Senate for expedited confirmation as CEOs of the NUPRC and NMDPRA, respectively.
According to the Presidency, the nominees are seasoned professionals with extensive experience 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) 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, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was announced earlier on Wednesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His career includes stints as Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Mohammed further 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.
He played key roles in the delivery of major projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
Meanwhile, DAILY STRUGGLE reports that Ahmed’s resignation followed allegations of economic sabotage and corruption levelled against him earlier in the week by Africa’s richest man and owner of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote.
No comments