JUST IN: Tinubu Nominates New Oil Regulators as NMDPRA and NUPRC Chiefs Resign Amid Corruption Allegations

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of new chief executives for Nigeria’s two major oil and gas regulatory agencies to the Senate for confirmation following the resignation of their current heads.

In a statement issued by the Presidency on Wednesday, Tinubu requested expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The nominations followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, who headed the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, who led the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 to oversee the regulators established under the Petroleum Industry Act.

The Presidency described the nominees as seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the oil and gas sector. Eyesan is an Economics graduate of the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and its subsidiaries. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream, in 2024 and previously served as Group General Manager for Corporate Planning and Strategy from 2019 to 2023.

Engineer Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981. He was also announced on Wednesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy. His past roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as board chairmanship positions at the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries and NNPC Retail.

The statement further noted that Mohammed served as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Gas and Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership on major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act. He was also credited with playing key roles in projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano gas pipeline and Nigeria LNG Train developments.

The nominations are now before the Senate for screening and confirmation.

The resignations come amid heightened public scrutiny of the NMDPRA leadership. On Tuesday, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, alleging corruption, abuse of office and illicit enrichment by Farouk Ahmed.

In the petition dated December 16 and addressed to the ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), Dangote called for Ahmed’s arrest, investigation and prosecution. He alleged that Ahmed spent more than seven million dollars on the education of his four children in Switzerland, including upfront payment of school fees for six years, an amount he said could not be justified by the earnings of a career public servant.

Dangote reportedly provided details of the children, their schools and the sums paid, urging the ICPC to verify the claims as evidence of corrupt enrichment. He further accused Ahmed of diverting public funds for personal use and of deploying the regulatory authority to pursue private interests, actions he claimed had contributed to public outrage and protests in parts of the country.

Dangote maintained that Ahmed’s lifetime earnings could not lawfully account for the alleged expenditure and urged the ICPC to act under Section 19 of its enabling Act, which prescribes a five-year jail term without an option of fine. He said he was prepared to appear before investigators with documentary evidence to support his claims.

The allegations were first aired publicly during a media interaction at the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, on Sunday, where Dangote questioned Ahmed’s source of wealth and accused the regulator of frustrating local refining through the continued issuance of fuel import licences.