President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Rivers South-East Senator, Magnus Abe, as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), alongside 20 other nominees to serve on the boards of Nigeria’s two key petroleum regulatory agencies.
The President conveyed the nominations in separate letters to the Senate on Monday, seeking expedited confirmation for board members of the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Abe—who served two terms in the Senate—will lead the NUPRC board. Abe is a former board member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and currently serves as Chairman of the National Agency of the Great Green Wall.
Other non-executive commissioners nominated to the NUPRC board include Paul Jezhi, a former chairman of the Trade Union Congress in Kaduna State, and Sunday Babalola, a former deputy director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
President Tinubu also nominated seven executive commissioners to the NUPRC board. They are Muhammed Lamido (Finance), Edu Inyang (Exploration and Acreage), Justin Ezeala (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), Henry Oki (Development and Production), Indabawa Alka (Corporate Services and Administration), Mahmood Tijani (Health, Safety and Environment), and Olayemi Adeboyejo, who will serve as Secretary and Legal Adviser.
While Lamido and Adeboyejo were first appointed in 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, Alka was appointed by President Tinubu in 2023. The remaining nominees are new appointments.
For the NMDPRA board, the President nominated Adegbite Adeniji, a seasoned energy lawyer with over three decades of experience, as Chairman. Adeniji previously served as Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum and was part of the World Bank Oil and Gas Policy team that advised Nigeria on petroleum sector reforms. He is currently the Managing Partner at ENR Advisory.
Also nominated as non-executive members of the NMDPRA board are Kenneth Kobani, a former Minister of State for Trade and ex-Secretary to the Rivers State Government, and Asabe Ahmed.
Other executive nominees for the NMDPRA board include Abiodun Adeniji (Finance), Francis Ogaree (Hydrocarbon), Oluwole Adama (Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure), and Dr Mustapha Lamorde (Corporate Services and Administration). Adama was appointed in 2024, while Lamorde, Adeniji, and Ogaree were appointed between 2021 and 2022.
Additional nominees are Yahaya Yinusa (Distribution Systems), Adeyemi Aminu (Corporate Services), Modie Ogechukwu (Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning), and Olawale Dawodu as Board Secretary and Legal Adviser.
The nominations are part of ongoing efforts by the Tinubu administration to strengthen governance and regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, pending Senate confirmation.
