President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate’s approval for new chief executives to lead the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

This follows the resignations of Engineers Farouk Ahmed and Gbenga Komolafe, the outgoing chief executives of NMDPRA and NUPRC.

Both Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the regulatory agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). Their departures mark a significant leadership transition in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

In a letter to the Senate, President Tinubu nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA, urging expedited confirmation.

Eyesan, an Economics graduate from the University of Benin, brings nearly 33 years of experience from her career at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024) and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy (2019–2023).

Engineer Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe and a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University (1981), has an extensive career spanning leadership roles in the NNPC, including Managing Director of Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company. He has chaired boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail, and most recently was appointed as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

Mohammed’s contributions include strategic oversight of major projects and policy frameworks such as the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and key components of the Petroleum Industry Act. He played a central role in delivering projects including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train.