President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their incumbent heads.
The President is seeking Senate approval for 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 follow the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former CEO of NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, former CEO of NUPRC.
Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In a letter to the Senate, President Tinubu requested expedited consideration of the nominees, describing them as experienced professionals with deep knowledge of the oil and gas sector.
Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and brings nearly 33 years of experience from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries.
She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, in 2024, having earlier served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy between 2019 and 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His extensive career includes serving as Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairing the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Engineer Mohammed also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major national gas initiatives, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played key roles in the execution of major infrastructure projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.