The Chief Executives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, have officially resigned from their positions.
Following their resignations, President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting the expedited confirmation of two new appointments. Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan has been nominated as CEO of NUPRC, while Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed is proposed to lead NMDPRA.
Both nominees bring decades of experience in the oil and gas sector. Eyesan, an Economics graduate from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years at NNPC and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University. He has served as Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, chaired boards including West African Gas Pipeline Company and Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and acted as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate at NNPC.
Mohammed played a key role in major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects. He was also recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
Both appointments are expected to usher in a new chapter of leadership and regulatory oversight in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, which established the NMDPRA and NUPRC under former President Buhari in 2021.
President Tinubu’s requests to the Senate for confirmation signal a swift transition aimed at maintaining continuity and stability in Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory framework.
