Farouk Ahmed, Komolafe Resign as Tinubu Nominates New Heads of Oil Regulators

By Ade Ade

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their incumbent heads.

The President is seeking the Senate’s approval for the appointment of 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, who headed the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

In a letter to the Senate, President Tinubu requested an expedited confirmation of the nominees, describing them as seasoned professionals with extensive experience in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, serving from 2023 to 2024, and previously held the position of 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, obtained in 1981. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

Mohammed has held several strategic leadership positions in the oil and gas sector, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.

He previously served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided leadership for major gas infrastructure projects and policy frameworks such as the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.

Engineer Mohammed played key roles in the delivery of major projects including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and the Nigeria LNG Train projects.

The nominations were disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.