The Senate on Thursday screened President Bola Tinubu’s nominees for the leadership of Nigeria’s two key petroleum regulatory agencies and is expected to confirm them on Friday.
The nominees are Engineer Saidu Muhammad for the position of Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
At plenary, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced that he had received two letters from President Tinubu seeking the confirmation of the nominees “in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.”
Reading the first letter, Akpabio said Tinubu nominated Muhammad pursuant to Section 41(6) of the Act, following the resignation of the immediate past head of the NMDPRA.
The President stressed the need for expedited confirmation to avoid a leadership vacuum in an agency responsible for critical midstream and downstream operations, including the authorisation of vessel movements.
“I hope that the Senate will consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously,” Tinubu said in the letter, while expressing his highest regard for the leadership of the upper chamber.
Citing the strategic importance of the position and time constraints, Akpabio referred the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for immediate consideration.
In a second letter, Tinubu sought the Senate’s confirmation of Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC under Section 11(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
He explained that the nomination followed the resignation of the commission’s immediate past chief executive and urged the Senate to act swiftly to ensure stability and continuity in the regulation of the upstream petroleum sector. That nomination was also referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The screening exercise, held at Senate Room 117, was largely routine. Both nominees were asked to “take a bow and go” after their résumés were verified and a few questions were asked.
The development follows a major shake-up in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory landscape after the resignations of Farouk Ahmed, former Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, his counterpart at the NUPRC.
The Presidency had on Wednesday announced the resignations amid controversy triggered by allegations and a petition submitted by Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, over regulatory actions affecting the downstream sector.
The dispute centred on disagreements between the Dangote Refinery and the NMDPRA over fuel importation, pricing, and regulatory oversight. Dangote accused Ahmed of economic sabotage and later petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging questionable personal wealth, including claims that the regulator spent about $5 million on the secondary education of his four children in Switzerland.
Following the petition and the ensuing controversy, Ahmed was summoned to the Presidential Villa and subsequently resigned. Komolafe, though not directly linked to the dispute, also exited office, with sources indicating that the Presidency opted for a simultaneous leadership change at both agencies.
Confirming the nominations, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu had forwarded the names to the Senate for approval, describing both nominees as seasoned oil and gas professionals.
Eyesan, an economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream. She previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, between 2019 and 2023.
Muhammad, born in 1957 in Gombe State, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981. His past roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairman of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.