The chief executives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have resigned, prompting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to forward nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
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This was announced in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The statement confirmed that Engineer Farouk Ahmed stepped down as NMDPRA chief, while Gbenga Komolafe resigned from his role at the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, following the creation of the agencies under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In letters to the Senate, President Tinubu requested expedited approval for Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of the NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of the NMDPRA.
Eyesan brings nearly 33 years of experience at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries. A graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, she retired in 2024 as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after serving as Group General Manager for Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023.
Engineer Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
His career includes leadership roles as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairing the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.
Mohammed also served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Gas and Power Directorate, where he contributed to major gas policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan and Gas Network Code, and helped shape the Petroleum Industry Act. He was involved in delivering key projects such as the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.
Aliko Dangote had accused Farouk Ahmed, the NMDPRA CEO, of corruption and financial impropriety, claiming he spent millions of dollars on his children’s education in Switzerland without clear sources of income. Farouk denied the allegations, describing them as false and misleading, and said he would respond through proper investigation channels rather than public dispute.
