BREAKING: Farouk Ahmed, Komolafe Step Down as Tinubu Names New Heads for NMDPRA, NUPRC

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, and the head of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, have resigned from their positions.

Following their resignations, President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as new chief executives of the petroleum regulatory agencies.

A statement issued by the President’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the nominations were submitted in response to the vacancies created by the resignation of the two officials.

Farouk Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

To fill the positions, President Tinubu requested the Senate’s 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.

According to the presidency, both nominees are experienced professionals 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. She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024) and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC between 2019 and 2023.

Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe State, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was also announced on Tuesday as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

His past roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chairman of 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, Gas & Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership on major gas initiatives and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act.

He played key roles in the execution of major projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train projects.

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