The Senate is expected to confirm on Friday President Bola Tinubu’s nominees to head Nigeria’s two key petroleum regulatory agencies following their screening on Thursday by the Committee of the Whole.
The nominees are Engineer Saidu Muhammad, designated as Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan, nominated as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
At plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio disclosed that he received two separate letters from President Tinubu requesting the confirmation of the nominees in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 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 swift confirmation to avoid a leadership vacuum in an agency responsible for critical midstream and downstream petroleum operations, including vessel movement authorisations.
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, the President sought the Senate’s confirmation of Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, in line with Section 11(3) of the PIA 2021. Tinubu explained that the nomination was necessitated by the resignation of the commission’s former chief executive and urged the Senate to act promptly to ensure continuity in the regulation of the upstream petroleum sector.
That nomination was also referred to the Committee of the Whole for expedited screening and possible confirmation.
The screening session, held at Senate Room 117, was largely procedural, as both nominees were asked to “take a bow and go” after their credentials were verified and a few questions were posed.
The nominations follow a major leadership shake-up in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory sector after the resignations of Farouk Ahmed, former Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, his counterpart at the NUPRC.
The Presidency had announced their resignations on Wednesday amid controversy triggered by allegations and a petition from the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, concerning regulatory actions affecting the downstream petroleum sector. The dispute revolved around disagreements between the Dangote Refinery and the NMDPRA over fuel importation, pricing, and regulatory oversight.
Dangote had accused Ahmed of economic sabotage and subsequently petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging unexplained personal wealth, including claims that the regulator funded the overseas education of his four children at a cost of about $5 million. Ahmed was later summoned to the Presidential Villa and subsequently resigned.
Although Komolafe was not directly implicated in the dispute, he also stepped down, with sources indicating that the Presidency opted for a simultaneous leadership change at both agencies.
Confirming the nominations, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described both nominees as experienced professionals in the oil and gas industry.
Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream, between 2023 and 2024. She previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, from 2019 to 2023.
Muhammad, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, obtained in 1981. His past roles include 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.
