The Senate is set to confirm President Bola Tinubu’s nominees, Saidu Muhammad and Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan, as chief executives of Nigeria’s two key petroleum regulatory agencies on Friday, following their screening by the Committee of the Whole, a development aimed at restoring stability to the country’s oil and gas regulatory framework after recent leadership changes.
The plan for confirmation was announced at plenary on Thursday by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who informed lawmakers that he had received two separate letters from President Tinubu requesting legislative approval for the appointments in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. Akpabio said the requests were formally transmitted to the Senate to ensure continuity in the leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Reading the first letter, Akpabio stated that the President had nominated Engineer Saidu Muhammad as the Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA pursuant to Section 41(6) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021. According to the letter, the nomination followed the resignation of the immediate past head of the authority, with the President stressing the need for swift confirmation to avoid a leadership vacuum in an agency responsible for overseeing critical midstream and downstream operations, including fuel supply regulation and the authorisation of vessel movements.
In the same correspondence, President Tinubu appealed to the Senate to consider and confirm the nomination expeditiously, citing the strategic importance of the NMDPRA to national energy security and economic stability. Akpabio, referencing time constraints and the sensitive nature of the position, subsequently referred the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for immediate screening and consideration.
In a second letter also read at plenary, the President sought the confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission in line with Section 11(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021. Tinubu explained that the nomination was necessitated by the resignation of the commission’s immediate past chief executive and underscored the importance of ensuring stability and continuity in the regulation of upstream petroleum operations.
That nomination was similarly referred to the Committee of the Whole for prompt consideration. The screening exercise took place at Senate Room 117, where both nominees and members of their delegations were already seated ahead of proceedings. Contrary to expectations of an extensive and rigorous screening session, the exercise was largely routine, with lawmakers verifying the nominees’ résumés and asking a few general questions before directing them to “take a bow and go.”
The nominations come against the backdrop of a major shake-up in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory space following the resignations of the former Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, and his counterpart at the NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe. The resignations were announced by the Presidency amid mounting controversy triggered by regulatory disputes in the downstream sector and a petition filed by the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
The dispute centred on disagreements between the Dangote Refinery and the NMDPRA over fuel importation, pricing, and regulatory oversight, with Dangote accusing the former NMDPRA leadership of economic sabotage. The business mogul later petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging questionable personal wealth and possible abuse of office by the former regulator, claims that intensified public scrutiny of the agency’s leadership.
Following the petition and the ensuing controversy, Farouk Ahmed was summoned to the Presidential Villa and subsequently resigned, while Komolafe, though not directly implicated in the dispute, also exited office, with sources indicating that the Presidency opted for a simultaneous leadership change at both regulatory bodies to reset the sector’s governance structure.
Confirming the nominations, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu had forwarded the names to the Senate for approval, describing both nominees as seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the oil and gas industry. Eyesan is a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin and spent nearly 33 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream, between 2023 and 2024, after previously serving as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy.
Muhammad, born in 1957 in Gombe State, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and has held several senior positions in the energy sector, including Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company, as well as chairman of the boards of the West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.