President Bola Tinubu’s nominees to lead Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory agencies have pledged sweeping reforms aimed at stabilising the sector, boosting revenue and restoring investor confidence. The nominees, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Engineer Saidu Mohammed for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), made the commitments during their screening at the Senate on Wednesday.
The screening followed a letter from President Tinubu formally requesting Senate confirmation of the two nominees. Their nominations came barely 24 hours after the resignation of the former heads of both agencies, Farouk Ahmed of NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe of NUPRC, who were appointed in 2021 after the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into force.
The exercise generated excitement in the Senate, with lawmakers keen to hear how the new nominees plan to fix long-standing challenges in the oil and gas sector. During the question-and-answer session, both nominees outlined reform plans centred on digitisation, strict enforcement of contracts, transparency and accelerated gas development.
Eyesan, nominated to head the upstream regulator, stressed that technology and data-driven regulation would be central to her leadership. She told senators that Nigeria continues to lose significant revenue due to manual processes and poor integration of systems in an industry that is rapidly going digital worldwide. According to her, without real-time data and proper monitoring, effective regulation becomes difficult.
Drawing from her nearly 33 years of experience at the NNPC and its subsidiaries, where she retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, Eyesan said collaboration between regulators, operators and policymakers is key to progress. She described the PIA as a strong framework that, if properly implemented, can unlock massive opportunities and attract fresh investments, even as the global energy transition accelerates.
On his part, Mohammed, the nominee for the midstream and downstream sector, promised to restore discipline across the gas and petroleum supply chain. He emphasised that gas supply must be driven by enforceable contracts, not informal arrangements, noting that weak contractual frameworks have contributed to shortages, especially in the power sector.
Mohammed also warned against neglecting local refining and processing capacity, saying Nigeria must avoid repeating the mistakes that led to the collapse of the textile industry. While supporting exports, he insisted that domestic energy needs must come first to guarantee energy security.
Lawmakers described the screening as timely, with the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) noting that energy efficiency and increased production are critical to Nigeria’s economic recovery. The Senate is expected to conclude the confirmation process after considering the committee’s report at plenary.
