President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as chief executives of 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 and Gbenga Komolafe, who were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the regulatory agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

In separate letters to the Senate, President Tinubu sought 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 President noted that the nominations were made to ensure continuity, efficiency, and strengthened regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream, in 2024. She previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, from 2019 to 2023. Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has held several strategic positions, including Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Directorate. He played key roles in major national gas projects, including the AKK Gas Pipeline and the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, and was recently announced as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.