Engineers Farouk Ahmed, Komolafe Resign As Tinubu Names New Oil Regulators, Seeks Senate Confirmation
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to approve the nominations of new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), following the resignation of the heads of the two critical petroleum regulatory agencies. The announcement was signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, and dated December 17, 2025.
The request was conveyed in letters to the Senate after Engineer Farouk Ahmed stepped down as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe resigned as Chief Executive of the NUPRC. Both outgoing officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to oversee the agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which restructured Nigeria’s oil and gas regulatory framework.
In moving swiftly to ensure continuity in the governance of the sector, President Tinubu nominated Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, while Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed was nominated as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. The President has asked the Senate to expedite the confirmation of both nominees.
According to the State House press release, the two nominees are seasoned professionals with extensive experience across key segments of the oil and gas industry.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, where she served between 2023 and 2024. Prior to that, she was Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023, playing a central role in corporate strategy and upstream planning.
Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, who was born in 1957 in Gombe, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981. He was announced on the same day as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy. His career spans several top leadership positions within Nigeria’s energy sector, including serving as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.
Engineer Mohammed has also chaired the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail. In addition, he served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major national gas initiatives and policy frameworks.
His contributions include work on the Gas Masterplan, the Gas Network Code, and inputs into the development of the Petroleum Industry Act.
The press release further noted that Engineer Mohammed played a pivotal role in the delivery of major gas infrastructure projects, including the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects, underscoring his experience in large-scale energy development and execution.
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