By our Correspondent
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the nominations of new Chief Executive Officers for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for confirmation.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, this follows the resignations of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of NMDPRA, and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari following the establishment of the regulators under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The new nominees to replace Farouk and Komolafe are Ms. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA.
Onanuga added in the statement that both nominees are highly experienced professionals in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Ms. Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1981). He was recently announced as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Seplat Energy Plc.
His distinguished career includes service as Managing Director of the 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. He also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, providing strategic leadership for key national gas initiatives, including the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and inputs into the Petroleum Industry Act.
Engineer Mohammed played a critical role in the delivery of major energy infrastructure projects, including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and the Nigeria LNG Train projects. (GSF)
