LEADERSHIP CHANGES AT NIGERIAN PETROLEUM REGULATORY AGENCIES
Two Regulatory Chiefs Resign Amid Controversy; Tinubu Nominates Successors
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate two nominations for the chief executive positions of Nigeria’s principal oil sector regulators, following the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Gbenga Komolafe of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The nominations come amid heightened tensions in the downstream petroleum sector and serious allegations of corruption against the outgoing NMDPRA chief.
The President has requested expedited Senate confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA. Both nominees bring extensive experience from Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, serving most recently in that capacity from 2023 to 2024. Prior to that, she held the position of Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed was born in Gombe State in 1957 and graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. His professional experience includes service as Managing Director of both Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company. He has also chaired the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company and Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas subsidiaries, and served as an officer at NNPC Retail.
Most significantly, he held the position of Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he led strategic initiatives including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code development, and contributed substantially to the Petroleum Industry Act framework. Engineer Mohammed was instrumental in delivering major infrastructure projects including the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline initiative, and Nigeria LNG developments.
Backdrop: Allegations Against Outgoing NMDPRA Chief
The leadership changes occur against a backdrop of serious corruption allegations directed at Engineer Farouk Ahmed. Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, publicly alleged on December 15 that Ahmed spent approximately $5 million on secondary school education for his four children in Switzerland over a six-year period. The amount, Dangote argued, could not reasonably be explained by earnings from public service.
On December 16, Dangote formally submitted a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) accusing Ahmed of corruption and financial impropriety. The petition alleged that Ahmed expended over $7 million without evidence of legitimate income on his children’s education, with claims including spending on an MBA programme at Harvard valued at approximately $210,000. Dangote characterized these expenditures as inconsistent with the compensation structure of a public servant and suggested they raised serious concerns about conflicts of interest and regulatory integrity.
Ahmed responded by describing the allegations as “wild and spurious,” stating that as a regulator in a sensitive industry, he preferred not to engage in public disputes and would allow investigative institutions to address the matter. The ICPC subsequently confirmed receipt of the petition and assured the public that it would conduct a thorough investigation.
Broader Regulatory and Sectoral Context
The conflict between Dangote and the NMDPRA leadership extends beyond the corruption allegations. Beginning in 2024, Ahmed claimed that products from local refineries, including Dangote Refinery, were of lower quality than imported alternatives. He also accused Dangote of seeking to monopolize Nigeria’s energy product supply, contentions that the refinery denied.
In a significant claim aired during a press conference, Dangote alleged that officials within the NNPC and regulatory agencies had established petroleum product blending operations in Malta. According to Dangote, this syndicate was importing substandard petroleum products from overseas blending facilities back into Nigeria, thereby undermining the competitiveness of locally refined products and perpetuating Nigeria’s dependence on fuel imports.
Dangote further highlighted what he characterized as pricing barriers to local refining. He pointed to offshore storage terminals in neighboring Togo—particularly the Lomé Floating Storage Terminal—where imported fuel could be sourced at lower cost to Nigerian marketers compared to lifting products directly from the Dangote Refinery due to local port charges and regulatory fees.
Parliamentary and Public Sector Response
The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources launched an inquiry into the dispute and summoned both Dangote and the NMDPRA leadership for immediate consultation. Lawmakers warned that unresolved regulatory conflicts threatened fuel supply stability and investor confidence in Nigeria’s downstream sector, particularly during the festive season. The committees called for a swift resolution and urged both parties to cease public communications pending legislative intervention.
The regulatory reshuffle reflects mounting pressure from multiple stakeholders on Nigeria’s petroleum sector governance and signals the government’s attempt to restore confidence in regulatory institutions during a critical period of refinery development and energy sector reform.
