BREAKING: Farouk Ahmed, Komolafe resign as Tinubu nominates new NMDPRA, NUPRC CEOs

Engineers Farouk Ahmed, Gbenga Komolafe Resign; President Tinubu Nominates Successors to Senate for Approval

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executive officers for 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 lead the regulatory agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

To fill the vacant positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, seeking 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.

The nominees are seasoned professionals with extensive experience in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Ms. Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, in 2024, and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC between 2019 and 2023.

Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

His previous appointments include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. He also served as Chairman of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.

Engineer Mohammed further served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.

He played a key role in the delivery of critical infrastructure projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train projects.