Tinubu seeks Senate’s confirmation of new NUPRC, NMDPRA chiefs

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the Senate to screen and confirm his nominees for the leadership of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies: the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The request was conveyed in separate letters read by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during plenary on […]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the Senate to screen and confirm his nominees for the leadership of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory agencies: the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The request was conveyed in separate letters read by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during plenary on Thursday.

Tinubu nominated Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC and Saidu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA.

The nominations followed the recent resignations of Gbenga Komolafe and Farouk Ahmed, the former chief executives of NUPRC and NMDPRA respectively.

Both officials were appointed in 2021 by late former President Muhammadu Buhari under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Ahmed’s resignation came amid allegations of corruption and abuse of office made by Dangote Group’s President, Aliko Dangote, who accused the NMDPRA leadership of undermining local refining by issuing import licences to international oil traders.

In his letters, President Tinubu said urged the lawmakers to expedite the confirmation process to ensure stability and continuity in the petroleum sector.