Engineers Farouk Ahmed, Gbenga Komolafe Resign as President Tinubu Nominates New Heads of NMDPRA, NUPRC for Senate Approval
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for Nigeria’s petroleum sector regulators—the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The request follows the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In separate letters addressed to the Senate, President Tinubu sought expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA.
According to the Presidency, the nominations are aimed at ensuring continuity, regulatory stability, and effective implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act in line with the administration’s energy and economic reform agenda.
The two nominees are widely regarded as seasoned professionals with decades of experience in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, serving in that capacity between 2023 and 2024. Prior to that, she was Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023, where she played a key role in strategic planning and policy alignment within the national oil company.
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.
His extensive career includes serving as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Engineer Mohammed previously served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas infrastructure projects and policy frameworks. His contributions include the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and inputs into the development of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played a pivotal role in the delivery of critical national projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
If confirmed by the Senate, the nominees are expected to steer the affairs of their respective regulatory agencies at a critical time, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to strengthen regulation, attract investment, and drive sustainable growth across Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain.
