President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested that the Senate approve two new chief executives for Nigeria’s key petroleum regulators, following the resignation of their current heads.
The request comes after Engineer Farouk Ahmed, head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), stepped down from their offices.
This is contained in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, and dated December 17, 2025. Both men were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In letters sent to the Senate, President Tinubu requested fast-tracked 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 two nominees are experienced professionals with long careers in the oil and gas sector.
Eyesan is an Economics graduate of the University of Benin and spent almost 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries.
She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, covering the 2023–2024 period. Between 2019 and 2023, she also served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at the NNPC.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed was born in 1957 in Gombe State. He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was also announced on the same day as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
Over the years, Mohammed has held several senior positions, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.
“His prior roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chair of the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.”
In addition, he worked as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he helped shape major gas policies and projects, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.
He played key roles in major national projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
